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AMMAN — The Jordan Society of Tourism and Travel Agents (JSTA) warned against promoting and circulating advertisements for tours and trips organised by unlicensed travel agencies.
“Social media platforms are increasingly becoming a place where tour operators promote, showcase and talk about their travel trips and promos,” JSTA member Bilal Robeen said in a statement made available to The Jordan Times on Thursday.
He noted that these platforms have changed the way travel planning is done, and have allowed many who do not even have the required licences to operate as travel agents.
“There are promotions of all kinds and many deceptive marketing techniques are practised by many travel agents,” travel agency manager Hassan Maraqa told The Jordan Times on Thursday.
He added that many online travel-related businesses are appearing on social media platforms and have even started organising trips within Jordan, which negatively affects the income of official travel agencies.
According to the JSTA, whoever practices a tourism-related profession before obtaining a licence that qualifies them to do so shall be liable to imprisonment for a period of no less than 6 months and not more than a year, or a fine of no less than JD3,000 and not more than JD10,000, or both.
Maria Al Malak, a Jordanian in her early 30s, said that around two months ago she saw a sponsored Umrah travel package on Instagram, so she called the agency and bought two packages for herself and her brother. When she arrived in Saudi Arabia, the hotel was totally different, and the free transportation advertised was not available.
“I thought I would be saving money when I tried this new agency that I had never heard of before, but after this experience, I’ll always go to well-known travel agencies,” she said.