Tourism authorities challenged to attract more Chinese tourists

YINCHUAN, China /Amman – Jordan’s tourism officials were in China over the past few days, hoping to lure greater numbers of tourists from this Asian country into the Kingdom.

Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) was in Ningxia province and Beijing between September 10 and 15, where it launched a promotional campaign as part of the 2015 China-Arab States Expo, which concluded Monday in Yinchuan, the capital of the autonomous region Ningxia Hui.

JTB prepared a Petra-themed pavilion at the expo, showcasing the Kingdom’s tourism attractions and offering interested visitors cultural and social information.

The event was a special forum to promote the Kingdom’s tourist attractions to Chinese holidaymakers.

On Monday, JTB officials met with eight Chinese tour operators to discuss possible cooperation; these agencies would further encourage tourists from China to visit the Kingdom’s attractions, said Tohama Nabulsi, the director of JTB media and communication.

Official Chinese figures show that around 119 million Chinese tourists travelled abroad in 2014; this year, 120 million are expected to make visits outside the country. 

The figures show a great potential in such a huge market. Moreover, Chinese tourists are described in Europe and other countries as big spenders, the official noted.

In 2014, only 9,000 tourists came to Jordan from this Asian country, according to Ministry of Tourism figures.

According to Nabulsi, among the obstacles that limit tourism between Jordan and China is the lack of direct flights between Amman and Beijing, the language barrier and dietary preferences, or what the official called tourists’ “loyalty to Chinese food”.

Chinese food restaurants are available in Amman only, she said, adding that JTB will send three Jordanian tour operators to China to learn the language as part of a campaign that will focus on attracting tourists from there.

Chinese tourists, Nabulsi said, prefer to visit major international attractions in Europe and the US. JTB will focus on Chinese youth, hoping to attract them to adventures in the Kingdom and will bring Chinese journalists to write about Jordan in an attempt to familiarise the Chinese public with tourist sites the Kingdom has to offer.

She added that because Facebook and Twitter are banned in China, JTB is in the process of creating an account on Chinese social media networks.

Wun Hui Chang, a Chinese teacher of English based in Yinchuan, said she knew little about Jordan.

“I’m not interested to visit the Middle East because of trouble there,” she said when asked by The Jordan Times if she would be willing to visit the Kingdom.

However, Li Ye, a government employee in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, said he knew that Jordan was different from other countries in the region in terms of stability and security, but for the time being, he prefers to visit the West and nearby Asian countries, such as Thailand and Malaysia.

JTB officials said they are aware that more efforts should be exerted on larger scale. Most importantly, they agreed, the Chinese public needs to become aware that Jordan is a safe country that has much to offer to tourists.