Petra receives over half million visitors so far this year

AMMAN — Over half-a-million people have visited Petra during the first six months of 2019, setting an unprecedented record for the city, figures by the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) said on Monday. 

The number of foreign visitors to the city increased by 71 per cent during June this year, when compared with June 2018, said PDTRA Chief Commissioner Suleiman Farajat in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Out of a total of 533,032 visitors to Petra during the first half of this year, 473,813 were foreigners, thus breaking the 2010 record of 472,783 total visitors, including 421,207 foreigners. 

Figures also revealed that 68,025 people from around the globe visited Petra last month, including 53,954 foreign and 13,821 Jordanian and Arab visitors, in addition to 250 students on field trips. 

“The remarkable increase in the number of tourists during the summer points to efforts by the Jordan Tourism Board to limit seasonality and Petra’s status as a unique destination within the international tourism market,” Farajat said.

He added that the hike in visitors will contribute to creating commercial momentum in the Petra region, pointing to upcoming PDTRA projects, which would diversify Petra’s tourism portfolio and encourage visitors to stay for longer periods of time. 

Farajat highlighted that the number of visitors to Petra could exceed the 1-million mark by the end of the year.