AMMAN — “Unfamiliar” tourist sites around the Kingdom can be promoted as providing visual experiences and opportunities for interaction with local residents through new marketing campaigns, representatives from the tourism sector said on Tuesday.
In an article posted recently on Middle East social news website www.stepfeed.com, 14 tourist attractions around Jordan “that aren’t Petra, Amman, and the Dead Sea” were promoted.
Jordan’s tourism sector has witnessed a “considerable and promising” increase in the number of visitors since the beginning of the year, particularly from Asian countries, an official said in a recent interview.
The number of overall tourists reached 1.639 million visitors during the first four months of this year, compared to nearly 1.457 million over the same period last year, registering a 12.5 per cent growth, said Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) Managing Director Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat.
AMMAN — Royal Jordan Airlines on Wednesday announced plans to operate two weekly direct flights between Aqaba and Dubai as of June 8, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority Chief Commissioner Nasser Shraideh said that the flights will enhance tourism, as the UAE is the biggest investor in Aqaba, 330km south of Amman, with a value of $10 billion.
JERASH — Among Jordanians, the city of Jerash is famous for its high quality, fresh dairy products, which are still prepared using traditional methods.
Visitors to Jerash often purchase Labaneh Jarashiyeh, a kind of strained yoghurt, which is a signature product of the city, 48km north of Amman.
Last year marked another successful year for Jordanian tourism, with UK visitor numbers rising by seven per cent, compared to 2015, with Britain remaining the largest European source market for the Hashemite Kingdom.
The launch of the ExtraJORDANary campaign, in spring 2016, contributed to the positive arrival figures as travellers where able to book holidays through several new tour operators.
AMMAN — The Madaba Regional Archaeological Museum Project (MRAMP) was officially launched on May 17 under an international consortium of experts from Jordan, the US and Italy, seeking to establish a new archaeological museum in Madaba in order to preserve and protect the rich heritage of Madaba and the surrounding region, while fostering a greater sense of ownership and engagement by the local community, a statement from the organisers said.
To say Little Petra is a long way off the tourist trail is an understatement. To get there we drive past the tourist police’s outpost, turn left and off-road alongside ancient, dried riverbeds and finally up a sand dune into the lee of a red sandstone cliff.
The only other people sleeping out under the stars are a few shepherds
AMMAN — The pumping of water from three new wells in Petra District in Maan Governorate has begun at a capacity of 600 cubic metres per hour, in a bid to improve supply at the desert town, an official said on Monday.
The three new wells are part of a project which seeks to provide additional water to the residents of Petra District, according to Omar Salameh, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.
The project also entailed the construction of water reservoirs, operation rooms and the installation of 12 kilometres of pipelines, according to Salameh.
JERASH — Preparations for Jerash Festival for Culture and Arts 2017 have begun, triggering criticism from local tour guides over alleged disruption to tourist movements in some parts of the Greco-Roman city.
A local tourist guide in Jerash, who preferred to remain anonymous, told The Jordan Times on Monday that the preparations are “too early” and that the festival’s facilities would hinder the movement of visitors and block the view of some monuments.
Amman, northern Jordan is home to other ancient cities of the Decapolis. These include Jarash (Gerasa), Umm Qays (Gadara), Tabaqat Fahl or Fihil (Pella), Bayt Ras (Capitolias), and Quwayliba (Abila). Jarash, straddling one of the ancient world s key trade routes, offers extensive and breathtaking ruins of colonnaded streets, arches, temples, and baths in a remarkable state of preservation and completeness.
AMMAN — A total of 2,609 people visited the tombs of Prophet Mohammad’s companions in the Southern Mazar in May, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Thursday.
Mohammad Sarairah, the supervisor of the shrines, said that 1,553 of the visitors came from Muslim countries, 373 visitors were Arabs and 683 were Jordanians. The shrines house the tombs of Jafar Bin Abi Taleb, Zaid Bin Haretha and Abdullah Bin Rawaha.
AMMAN — Ramadan evenings kicked off in downtown Amman on Monday with the participation of a number of Islamic troupes from all over the world.
The event is held as a celebration for Amman’s selection as the Islamic cultural capital, Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) Culture Executive Director Samer Khair Ahmed said.
AMMAN —Tourism Minister Lina Annab said that the number of tourists to the Kingdom in the first five months of the year increased by 10.5 per cent, compared with the same period of last year.
A total of 2.6 million tourists visited Jordan until the end of this year’s May, compared with 1.864 million visitors to the country in the same period of 2016.
AMMAN — Illuminated decorations, crescents and stars have lit up downtown Amman in celebration of the holy month of Ramadan.
The illuminated decorations have turned the city centre into the main hub for Jordanians, who flock to downtown Amman right after the end of the fast-breaking iftar meal, often staying until the start of suhoor before dawn.
Initiated by the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC), the illuminations are part of a campaign implemented in cooperation with the Greater Amman Municpality and the Arab Bank, according to an ACC statement.
Speaking of his group’s recent partnership signed with Jordan’s government, Chief Executive Officer of Airport International Group PSC Kjeld Binger said that it ranked among the top 40 deals reached by both the private and public sectors worldwide.
The partnership exemplifies what is achievable when both sectors come together for a project that would benefit the whole local community.
The Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) Al Hussein Parks has been receiving around 2,000 visitors every day since the fasting month of Ramadan started, while King Abdullah II Park in Muqabalein has been receiving around 1,000 visitors daily, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
AMMAN — The Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) recently floated tenders for investment projects in Petra city worth JD100 million, PDTRA President Mohammad Nawafleh said on Wednesday.
Frescoes at Beit Ras in Jordan
An ancient tomb has been discovered in Jordan in the northern town of Beit Ras during an excavation project to expand a local waste-water sanitation network.
The tomb includes a cave with two burial chambers.
The larger chamber contains a basalt stone rock-cut tomb decorated with raised etchings of two lion heads and with several human bones enclosed.
Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani on Tuesday said that the Tourism Ministry’s instructions allow tourist facilities to work during Ramadan and provide services without violating the “sanctity” of the fasting month.
Muslims abstain from food and drink during Ramadan from dawn until after sunset.
AMMAN — The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) on Thursday released its eleventh edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI), ranking Jordan 95th out of 163 countries.
Published annually, the report ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness, based on a comprehensive data-driven analysis on trends in peace, its economic value and ways to develop peaceful societies
The Jordan Tourism Board has announced 2016 Indian arrival figures for the destination, recording an unprecedented decline in the same day visitor arrivals.
Daily visitors declined by 4.5 per cent, which indicates that visitors are now spending more time in the country.
