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Int’l social media activists enlisted to promote Jordan’s beauty, peace

By Muath Freij - Mar 26,2015 - Last updated at Mar 26,2015

WADI RUM — Gareth Pon, who is followed on Instagram by thousands from around the world, was happy to use his social media reach to show that Jordan is a peaceful and beautiful country.

Pon, who has around 227,000 followers on the photo-sharing site, said although he knew about the instability in the region, he was not nervous about coming to Jordan.

“I never let anything stop me from visiting any place I want. I’ve been to the Dead Sea and I went to Petra and all the amazing places in Jordan where everything is really peaceful,” he told The Jordan Times in Wadi Rum late last week. 

Pon was among several popular instagrammers, travel bloggers and photographers who were invited by the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) to tour the Kingdom’s various attractions.

They also attended a show organised by the Jordan Heritage Revival Company (JHRC) in Wadi Rum showcasing the history of the Great Arab Revolt.  

Lana Shuqum, JTB media and communications officer, said the board worked with JHRC to expose the Kingdom’s sites and heritage.   

“We wanted to let famous instagrammers, photographers and travel bloggers as well as social media activists know about Jordan’s tourism products,” she told The Jordan Times.  

Shuqum said the lenses of these social media personalities will showcase the Kingdom’s destinations and tourism services to the whole world.

“They toured several locations in Jordan for 10 days,” she noted.  

The JTB official said the board regularly invites tourism sector leaders from around the world, selecting them based on influence and outreach.

Lisa Hassani (@lily_rose), another popular Instagram user from France, said she did not know what to expect when she first came to the Kingdom. 

“When I told my father that I was coming to Jordan he was a bit scared and I was a bit reluctant because of the instability in the region; but when I came here it was totally different... it is a safe and beautiful place,” she added.  

Hassani, who has some 118,000 followers on Instagram, said her favourite part about Jordan is the people, highlighting the role social media can play in boosting tourism.

“I have been travelling a lot and I had so many e-mails about the places I visited and many people booked places because of the photos I took,” she added 

Moayyad Abu Rumman, the deputy director general of JHRC, said the event they held for the visitors was a way to promote tourism and showcase the Kingdom’s history at the same time.

“The Wadi Rum experience is about telling the tale of victory at the heart of the desert under the title ‘A trip through 1916’,” he told The Jordan Times.

Abu Rumman noted that the 12-kilometre journey is taken by train in Wadi Rum. Visitors on board the train are then ambushed by several horsemen re-enacting events from the Arab revolt and afterwards a number of visitors are kidnapped, then later set free.  

“This event is part of our marketing plan to show the world Jordan’s destinations. We want to utilise electronic marketing, and these visitors have more than 1 million followers,” he added.

“When they post a photo or a comment about Jordan, then the country will be promoted to their followers.”

JHRC, created by the King Abdullah II Fund for Development in 2010, seeks to develop the country’s tourism product and further enhance it, according to Abu Rumman.

Pon said the Wadi Rum show opened up the way for people to see Jordan in a new light.

“Photography is an important tool to create [the] desire and passion to travel.”

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