Programme to highlight Jordan as conference destination

AMMAN — The Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) on Wednesday hosted the inaugural meeting of the USAID-supported Jordan International Conferences Ambassador Programme.

The programme trains Jordanians — who are active and recognised internationally in the fields of medicine, academia, business and other sectors — to promote the Kingdom as a viable destination for meetings and conferences, according to a USAID statement.

“Through this programme, we seek to identify potential ambassadors — high profile representatives of various fields — to raise awareness about Jordan,” said JTB Managing Director Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat.

The meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry stimulates an estimated $1.2 trillion and 400,000 conferences and exhibitions worldwide each year, according to the statement.

In Jordan, revenue from MICE is only 1.7 per cent of the country’s total tourism revenue. “Our aim is to... attract more MICE events to Jordan,” said Ibrahim Osta, chief of party to USAID’s Economic Growth through Sustainable Tourism Project, with which JTB is implementing the programme.