US embassy security warning bad for tourism — restaurants

AMMAN — The Jordan Association for Restaurants and Sweets Shops Owners on Wednesday criticised the US embassy’s warning to American citizens in Jordan to avoid going to malls, saying that such announcements will increase the restaurant sector’s losses.

In a statement sent to The Jordan Times, the association said the tourist restaurant sector is “highly sensitive”, commending the media’s efforts to promote the security and stability of Jordan.

The association said tourist restaurants have incurred JD30 million in losses since the beginning of this year due to political unrest in the region and the recent unstable weather conditions in the Kingdom.

To calculate the losses, the association said it took a random representative sample out of the country’s more than 850 tourist restaurants and took into account the number of days they were closed for lack of customers and the average drop in sales, which stood at around 30 per cent, equal to JD28-30 million.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Issam Fakhr Eddin, the association’s president said restaurants suffer many challenges, mainly the increase in taxes and operational costs.