Dead Sea, Jordan – Revenues from tourism in Jordan have nearly tripled over a five-year period, having gone from 750 million Jordanian dinars (US$ 1.06 billion) in 2003 to 2.1 billion dinars (nearly US$ 3 billion) in 2008. The information was disclosed this Wednesday (11th) by the general manager of the Jordanian hotel company Zara Investment, Lina Annab, during a panel on the tourism industry at the Jordan International Investment Conference, held in the Dead Sea region.
"The figures are impressive from any perspective," said she. "Tourism has grown more than the GDP," she added. Just to give an idea, the Gross Domestic Product of Jordan has grown at an annual average of 6% to 7% in the last six years.
At the panel, mediated by the senator Akel Biltaji, who is also the chairman of the Tourism Committee at the local Senate, the Jordanian government presented three projects for establishing tourist development hubs. The projects follow the logic of the "development zones," which are free zones of sorts in which incentives are offered in order to attract entrepreneurs.
The chairman of the Dead Sea Development Company, Saoud Nsairat, for instance, stated that the region of the salty lake, which is the lowest point on the surface of Earth, receives around 250,000 visitors each year, and by means of actions such as the Dead Sea Development Area, the goal is to increase the number of tourists up to 750,000, aside from tripling the total number of hotel rooms available, currently at 1,800.
The president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Salim Taufic Schahin, was one of the lecturers. He stated that the number of Brazilian visitors to Jordan should increase because of the soap opera "Viver a Vida" (To Live the Life), broadcasted by the Globo television network, which features scenes shot in the country, and because of promotion actions carried out by the Jordanian government, such as participation in Brazilian fairs for the industry.
He underscored that "the relations between Brazil and Jordan have a huge untapped potential, especially in tourism." Schahin also mentioned existing tourist attractions in Brazil, such as the beaches, ecological reserves and "paradisiacal regions," and discussed the boost that tourism should receive in coming years, with the promotion of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Other speakers included the chief commissioner of the Petra Region Tourism Authority, Nasser Shraideh, and the CEO of the Jabal Ajloun Development Company, Munir Nassar. The Jordanians are expecting tourism in the country to grow by at least 45% in the next 10 years.
At the opening of the conference, the CEO of the Jordan Investment Board, which organized the event, Maen Nsour, stated that investment attraction is not an end in itself, but rather a means for promoting sustainable development in the country.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum