Gov’t-funded campaign planned to salvage tourism, starting with Petra

AMMAN — With the tourism and travel sectors having hit an unprecedented low, authorities are trying to “save” the upcoming season with a focus on encouraging visitors to return to the ancient city of Petra, one of the most affected tourist attractions.

At a time when industry representatives are complaining that their business is losing sharply, sector officials said a new campaign funded by the government will be launched soon targeting new markets and those that witnessed a drop in the number of tourists. 

Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) Managing Director Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat said the campaign will be launched in mid-August as television and radio commercials, in addition to advertisements on billboards, taxis and tram stations in many countries around the world.

“The focus will be on promoting Petra which has witnessed a sharp drop in the number of tourists,” Arabiyat told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The number of visitors to the rose-red city, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, dropped by 34 per cent in the first six months of 2015, compared to the same period last year.

According to official figures, 215,970 tourists visited the Nabataean city in the January-June period, compared to 327,858 tourists in the same period of 2014.

Arabiyat explained that the campaign will be possible due the government’s support, as the Cabinet decided to support promotion campaigns led by the JTB to save the country’s tourism sector.

However, the financial allocations for this campaign are yet to be decided, he said.

Although sector representatives in Petra acknowledge that tourism has been affected by regional turmoil, they said promotion campaigns are “weak”.

“Petra is not promoted in the global market as it should be,” complained Khaled Nawafleh, president of the Petra Hotels Association, citing Turkey as a country bordering Syria and Iraq, similar to Jordan, but tourism is still one of the main contributors to the country’s economy.

“We do not want to keep blaming regional turmoil for the low number of visitors… campaigns should be intensified,” Nawafleh said.

In a phone interview with The Jordan Times, Nawafleh noted that even of those who visit the city, 80 per cent do not stay overnight, instead “they come during the day” and spend the night at the Dead Sea.

He also blamed official institutions for not at least organising conferences in Petra, some 235km south of Amman, at a time when tourism there is “losing”.

Due to the drop in tourist numbers, 10 hotels in Petra were forced to shut down, and of the 30 hotels that decided to stay open despite losses, two closed their doors temporarily.

“Out of 1,800 hotel employees, employers had to dismiss 900 as they cannot afford to pay their wages” Nawafleh said, adding that the association addressed the Prime Ministry to exempt hotels from taxes until the situation improves.

Meanwhile, Suleiman Hasanat, head of the tour operators association in Petra, said what is happening to Petra is a “setback” to the country’s tourism as it is one of the main attractions in Jordan.

He called on authorities to utilise all available channels to promote the Nabataean city, charging that the Kingdom’s embassies are not working properly to promote tourism.

“All sectors suffer here… restaurants, souvenir shops and tour operators are losing,” Hasanat noted, calling for an independent commission in Wadi Musa to promote Petra as a destination by itself. 

Tourism Minister Nayef Al Fayez acknowledged that tourism promotion campaigns were “modest” due to the limited financial resources that used to be allocated to the sector.

However, the planned campaigns will be “unprecedented” as the government has pledged to support them to attract more visitors to the Kingdom, the minister said.

Fayez added that Petra will be the gateway for promoting Jordan’s tourism, and although all destinations will be promoted, Petra can be the starting point for tourists.

In addition, Arabiyat said preparations are now under way to host an international event in Petra, where celebrities will be invited to promote the Nabataean city.

The event, he noted, is expected to cost $1 million.

In June, the Cabinet decided to increase the JTB’s budget to enable it to promote the Kingdom’s tourist attractions in regional and international markets.

But the volume of funds to be pumped into the JTB, whose budget for 2015 was JD7.5 million, was not specified at the time.

Earlier this year, the Cabinet approved measures aimed at salvaging the tourism sector, such as reducing electricity tariffs for hotels and annulling entry visa fees for visitors who buy unified tickets for tourist sites.

The Cabinet also lowered fees for visitors entering through land border crossings from JD40 to JD10 and removed the special tax on tickets for regular flights from Amman to Aqaba.