Kingdom sees launch of adventure tourism development project

AMMAN — The Development and Promotion of Mediterranean Sustainable Adventure Tourism (MEDUSA) project has been launched in Jordan with an estimated total cost of 3.3 million euros, according to a Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) statement.

RSCN and Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association (JITOA) on Monday announced that the three-year long project will be funded by the financing programme ENI CBC Med, with contributions estimated at 2.9 million euros, while partners have pledged to cover 400,000 euros.   

Four Mediterranean countries including  Spain, Italy, Tunisia and Lebanon will also see the launch of the project, the statement said.

JITOA President Awni Kawar said that MEDUSA aims at developing and promoting adventure tourism, which grew by 195 per cent between 2010 and 2014, adding that the project will contribute in organising the sector through addressing challenges in this arena, as well as generating improved adventure tourism products, which would result in creating new jobs.

Besides building the capacities of local communities, the project presents an opportunity to transform the region’s adventure tourism into a sustainable model, he said, noting that the project in the Kingdom will be implemented in partnership with the Tourism Ministry and the Jordan Tourism Board, among other tourism sector representatives.

The project entails conducting studies on adventure tourism in the Kingdom and providing technical and material support to services providers, along with helping them in marketing the new destinations regionally and globally to attract tourists throughout the year, he was quoted in the statement as saying.

RSCN Director General Yehya Khaled said that MEDUSA will implement a marketing strategy to promote the new destinations, adding that, among the long-term goals set to develop the adventure tourism sector, a competitive programme to offer new services and provide training to operators and tour guides will be outlined.