Tourism revenue rises by 8.9% in Q1 2025

AMMAN — Jordan's tourism revenues reached $1.717 billion in the first quarter of 2025, marking an increase of 8.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2024, according to data released by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) on Thursday.

The growth was driven by a surge in tourist spending by Asian nationals, who increased their spending by 27.9 per cent, followed by Americans at 13.6 per cent, Jordanian expatriates at 7.4 per cent, and non-Jordanian Arab visitors at 6.3 per cent, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Receipts from European tourists declined by 0.6 per cent, the CBJ data showed.

Despite the overall growth, tourism revenues fell by 8.4 per cent in March, totaling $433.3 million for the month.

Jordanians' spending on outbound tourism also increased during the first quarter of 2025, reaching $490.6 million, showing a 15 per cent increase from $426.5 million in the same period last year.

In 2024, the Kingdom’s tourism revenue amounted to JD7.239 billion, marking a 2.3 per cent decline compared to 2023, according to CBJ data announced in January.

According to the January data, this decrease was attributed to a 3.9 per cent drop in the number of tourists.

An International Monetary Fund report said in June 2024 that the impact of the war on Gaza, which started on October 7, 2023, was concentrated on the tourism sector as a result of the cancellations by tourists from advanced economies, which account for a third of tourism revenues.

Meanwhile, remittances from Jordanian expatriates reached $605.8 million during the first two months of 2025, marking a 2 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to data released by the CBJ on Thursday.

The figure reflects “growing” financial contributions from Jordanians abroad, up from $593.8 million in the January–February period of last year, Petra added.