RECORD NUMBER OF TOURISTS VISIT PE

A record number of tourists visited Petra last year with arrivals topping 580,000 and encouraging the industry to introduce a range of development schemes to sustain the flow. Official figures showed a 62 per cent increase in visitors last year, up from 360,000 in 2006, which generated $13.4 million in tourism receipts for the country. Suleiman Farajat, head of the Petra Archaeological Park (PAP), said the increase in arrivals reflected the importance of Petra as a key historical attraction and its popularity as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. 

The increase is significant and we are working hard to ensure that the site continues to draw more visitors, with plans to improve tourist services and provisions,» said Farajat. The plan, which is being devised with the support of the Ministry of Tourism, includes introducing various changes to the site, according to the PAP official. Among the changes there are eight new trails which will take visitors on different tours through the ancient city.

Attracting tourists and giving them a quality experience of Petra as a whole requires developing services both within the park and outside it,» said Farajat. «Having more to see and do outside the park not only enhances the tourist experience, but subsequently encourages them to spend more time in Petra,he added. Farajat also said that a range of development schemes will be implemented by PAP and the Petra Region Authority throughout the course of this year. Welcoming the increase in visitors, head of the Petra Hotel Association (PHA) Fawwaz Hasanat said that while it was an important achievement for the industry, it was not enough. Although the site draws thousands of tourists every month, the majority come on one-day tours, which do little to impact the hospitality industry in Petra and inject the area with the life and business it needs. «As a tourist city, home to one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, Petra continues to be sorely underdeveloped as a tourist destination,» said Hasanat.

Development initiatives are slow and investments that can help boost Petra’s potential still lag behind,» he added. New efforts are a must to address the challenges facing Petra and its growing popularity worldwide, according to the PHA official. Hasanat said he has witnessed a growing number of Jordan battles Gulf visitor slump Jordan’s tourism revenues jumped 13% year on year in 2007 despite the country witnessing a decline in Arab and Gulf visitors who traditionally account for more than 50% of total visitors. 

According to numbers released by Jordan’s central bank, tourism revenues, which comprise 10% of the kingdom’s GDP, jumped by 13.4% to nearly US $2.11 billion during the first 11 months of 2007, compared to approximately $1.86 billion for the same period in 2006