Jordan expects to record flat growth in tourist arrivals this year as the Israel-Gaza war rages on, chasing away holidaymakers and depriving the country of a major source of employment and hard currency.
The country hosted just over five million visitors in 2023 and aims to maintain similar numbers this year by diversifying its source markets with promotional campaigns in countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, Abdelrazzak Arabiyat, managing director of the Jordan Tourism Board, told The National.
“Last year, we had 5.4 million visitors and we need to at least maintain this number this year, and we hope it will not decrease,” Mr Arabiyat said.
“I'm always optimistic. At the end of the day, people have a short memory and I think that the second half of the year will witness an increase in numbers, especially that low-cost carriers will come back in the winter season and charter flights will resume again to Jordan.”
Tourism in Jordan – in pictures
The Israel-Gaza war is heightening tensions in the Middle East, weighing on Jordan's tourism sector and curbing trade, S&P Global Ratings said in a March report.
Tourism is the country's main export and a key source of private sector employment, contributing about 15 per cent to the gross domestic product in 2023, according to the report.
Jordan's economic growth will ease to 2.1 per cent this year, from 2.6 per cent in 2023, as tourism arrivals will probably be lower than last year's record-breaking levels, according to S&P Global Ratings.
American and European tourist arrivals, which together make up 17 per cent of Jordan's tourism receipts, are expected to decline the most, the rating agency said.
Arab tourist arrivals, including Jordanians living abroad, should “continue to prove resilient” to regional tensions, it said.
“What happened in the region affected tourism, especially [as] tourism is fragile and sensitive towards what’s going on and people will definitely change their plans, postpone or cancel their trips or change to another destination,” Mr Arabiyat said.
“People don’t know that Jordan is the calm house between the noisy neighbours. As usual, Jordan is an oasis of peace and always resilient and we have a high-security environment.”
This aims “to convey the message that everything is OK in Jordan, we don’t have any common borders with Gaza and what’s happening there, and that we’re still receiving tourists from different countries in the world”, Mr Arabiyat said.
In the first quarter of 2024, Jordan had forecast a 50 per cent drop in international tourists due to the war but recorded a better-than expected performance with a smaller decrease of six per cent, he said.
A 26 per cent increase in visitors from the GCC and Arab countries helped to compensate for the 40 per cent decline in other markets such as US and Europe, he said.
People don’t know that Jordan is the calm house between the noisy neighbours
Abdelrazzak Arabiyat,
managing director, Jordan Tourism Board
Jordan is seeking to change misperceptions about safety and security through “user-generated” marketing content by travel influencers and testimonials from international tourists.
New source markets
Jordan is now wooing tourists from Latin America and African countries including Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia and South Africa.
Also on its radar are Asian countries including China, Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The campaigns are highlighting medical tourism and visits to Jordan's historical Christian sites and churches.
The Jordan Tourism Board is in talks with foreign airlines such as Emirates and Qatar Airways to support its plans as the country does not have direct flights to many of these markets, he said.
It is also co-operating with national carrier Royal Jordanian to bring more tourists to the country through joint marketing activities.
In the second quarter of 2024, the drop in tourist arrivals, particularly from the US and Europe, is expected to continue, Mr Arabiyat said.
However, efforts are under way to attract more visitors from Gulf countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia with a line-up of entertainment events and activities during the summer holidays, he said.
“Hopefully the second half of the year will be better,” he said, as more tourists from Europe go on holiday to warmer countries during their winter season.
The tourism board has signed deals with charter companies for flights from Eastern Europe to Jordan in the second half of this year.
Mr Arabiyat said he is also hoping for an increase in budget airline traffic – mainly driven by Ryanair and Wizz Air – and their return to full capacity to Jordan in the winter season after some carriers reduced or suspended operations.
Wizz Air and Ryanair did not respond to The National's request for comment on their plans.
In terms of attracting foreign direct investment into Jordan's tourism sector, feasibility studies are under way for building hotels and exhibition centres, Mr Arabiyat said.
Jordan's Aqaba Special Economic Zone has a “lot of opportunities” for tourism investments in its port, airport, cruise terminal and logistics city.
With the June opening of the exhibition centre in Aqaba, the country hopes to attract lucrative corporate travel and business events that bring in high-spending company executives, Mr Arabiyat added.
You Were Never Really Here
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Joaquim Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov
Four stars
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
The five pillars of Islam
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
Sly%20Cooper%20and%20the%20Thievius%20Raccoonus
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sucker%20Punch%20Productions%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%202%20to%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Brief scores:
Manchester City 3
Bernardo Silva 16', Sterling 57', Gundogan 79'
Bournemouth 1
Wilson 44'
Man of the match: Leroy Sane (Manchester City)
The biog
Born November 11, 1948
Education: BA, English Language and Literature, Cairo University
Family: Four brothers, seven sisters, two daughters, 42 and 39, two sons, 43 and 35, and 15 grandchildren
Hobbies: Reading and traveling
Results:
Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Suarez 27', Vidal 32', Dembele 35', Messi 78')
Sevilla 0
Red cards: Ronald Araujo, Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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RESULTS
5pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Purebred Arabian Cup Conditions (PA) Dh 200,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Cup Conditions (PA) Dh 200,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Winked, Connor Beasley, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Cup Listed (TB) Dh 380,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Boerhan, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
6.30pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Group 3 (PA) Dh 500,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Jewel Crown Group 1 (PA) Dh 5,000,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Messi, Pat Dobbs, Timo Keersmaekers
7.30pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Handicap (PA) Dh 150,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Harrab, Ryan Curatolo, Jean de Roualle
8pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AF Alareeq, Connor Beasley, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
Al Jazira's foreign quartet for 2017/18
Romarinho, Brazil
Lassana Diarra, France
Sardor Rashidov, Uzbekistan
Mbark Boussoufa, Morocco
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Scoreline
Liverpool 4
Oxlade-Chamberlain 9', Firmino 59', Mane 61', Salah 68'
Manchester City 3
Sane 40', Bernardo Silva 84', Gundogan 90' 1
The BIO
Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.
Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.
Favourite book: Ian McEwan’s Atonement – the ending alone knocked me for six.
Favourite holiday destination: Italy - music and opera is so much part of the life there. I love it.
