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Campaign to increase local communities’ involvement in tourism

By Dana Al Emam - Sep 29,2014 - Last updated at Sep 29,2014

AMMAN — The Ministry of Tourism on Monday launched the “Tourism is our capital” campaign, with the aim of developing local communities at tourist sites and enhancing their involvement in the sector.

“The ministry seeks to develop tourism at the governorate level and not to confine tourism services to tourist sites,” Tourism Minister Nidal Katamine told reporters.

He noted that residents of most governorates do not benefit financially from tourism revenues, citing Mafraq Governorate, 80km northeast of Amman, where Um Al Jimal’s Byzantine and early Islamic ruins are located and only seven out of every 10,000 residents work in the tourism sector.

“There is a real need to distribute tourism revenues equally among all governorates,” Katamine said, adding that the ministry’s recent project in Salt in Balqa Governorate has turned the city’s streets and old buildings into an outdoor museum, increasing the number of visitors from 1,500 in 2013 to 8,500 so far this year.

The sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product between January and August amounted to JD2.15 billion, and almost reached JD3 billion in 2013.

“We do not aim for tourism’s contribution to increase by 2 or even 10 per cent… we want the sector’s contribution to double four or five times,” Katamine said. 

The campaign, marking World Tourism Day, celebrated every year on September 27, also encourages the culture of preserving and respecting natural and ancient sites in the Kingdom.

By 2020, the Kingdom will witness the establishment of 40 new hotels, with a total capacity of 13,000 beds, which will create 25,000 job opportunities, according to Tourism Ministry Secretary General Issa Gammoh. 

“There are around 5,000 students currently studying specialties related to tourism and the conservation of antiquities at universities, colleges and training centres, with around 2,400 graduates annually,” he said.

The sector employs around 50,000 individuals, constituting 10 per cent of the Kingdom’s workforce, according to Tourism Ministry figures.

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