eTurboNews According to the World Tourism Organization, arrivals to Jordan grew by 9 percent as at June 2005 tally. In 2004, arrivals reached 2.8 million reflecting a rise of 21 percent over 2003 - making tourism the second largest private sector employer and the second highest earner of foreign exchange, contributing more than US$803 million (JD570 million) in annual receipts. The amount is about 10 percent of Jordan's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). European tourists contributed the most at 140,794 (69.2 percent increase over 2003) followed by the Middle East at 594,039 (up 3.1 percent over 2003).

 Last year, the GDP contribution by Jordan hotels and restaurants rose by an unprecedented 23 percent. According to Amman hotel managers, they attribute the windfall to a pseudo-surge in cash flow into the kingdom. A false positive perhaps?

Were it not for the ongoing war in Iraq and the heightened threats and danger in Baghdad, Jordan would have less tourists and thus fall short of the present boom said locals.

A 5 percent increase in Gulf and Arab tourists during the off-peak season first quarter 2004 indicated the country slowly, but surely, was becoming a year-round destination. Tourism receipts from entry fees to most sites showed a whopping 273 percent leap, unprecedented thus far.

All sounding jolly, due to Jordan's geography and relatively weak economy in the region, Amman has become the administration and training hub for most of the re-builders of Iraq. "The U.N. alone has 23 program agencies working under the umbrella title of UNAMI or United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq that includes branches like UNICEF and the UNDP... In an ideal situation, UNAMI would be based in Baghdad; but since the disastrous bombing of the UN headquarters in 2003, the organization has only a skeleton team in Iraq and runs its projects from Amman," said Laura Ashton of Arabies. She added most NGOs and coalition embassies are based in Amman too.

Real estate agents have reported high demand for office space and rental homes. Since the incessant bombings and abduction in Iraq, Amman became a natural choice for organizations to base their staff. After all, Amman is a convenient 90-minute flight from Baghdad on Royal Jordanian and a safer 800-kilometer drive option over uncertainty at Basra.

Iraqis, fleeing the danger at home, flock to Jordan - today saddled by a $7 billion deficit but cashing in on the trend. Some 600,000 Iraqis came to Jordan as refugees, or trainees since the war broke. While visitors in the past consist of the high-end market, locals confirm the profile has dramatically changed in the last 2 years after the US-strike on Iraq. Majority of visitors before was pure tourists. These days, it is more the military tourists, engineers on the way to Iraq or out on R&R in Petra or Aqaba, or journalists on a constant news hunt.

AP says estate prices have more than doubled as Iraqis with stacks of cash buy apartments and villas in Amman. Villas sell today from $350,000 to $2.8 million and apartments tripled to $212,000. Over fifty percent of foreign buyers are Iraqis who spent January to August 2005 more than $80 million on about 1,150 homes. Iraqis who flow into Amman afford more than a lavish lifestyle.

For an official take on the state of tourism affairs in the country, the eTurbo News interviewed H.E. Dr. Alia Bouran, minister for Tourism and Antiquities, during the TOURCOM Regional Conference on Tourism Communication for the Middle East and North Africa, organized by the World Tourism Organization. Bouran gave a positive roundup of tourism, her plans and initiatives to restore confidence in the destination.

 Confirming no terrorism can ever take place in Jordan, she said:  "The most devastating that can occur to tourism are probably terrorism and wars. Of course, we worry and we are always on alert. But we have been through many years politically stable. In putting stringent measures in place, we secure our borders and cooperate with countries around us to ensure Jordan is kept safe." Jordan and Iraq even signed October 1st an accord to strengthen border security in the fight against terror, organized crime, money-laundering and border infiltration.

 "We are perhaps one of the safest destinations in the Middle East, despite Aqaba whose recent incident had no bearing whatsoever on tourist numbers; there were neither cancellations nor recollection by people of the event," said Bouran. In their meeting, Interior Minister Yarvas asked his Iraqi counterpart Bayan Solagh for help in tracking down the Aqaba missile attackers.

Bouran added, "Each and every country has its own policy in dealing with crisis. It's a procedure looked at by countries individually as natural disaster or outside factor affecting tourism. There must be a manual to which we can refer in times of need. The most important is to cooperate and build a culture of sustaining the industry from within, whereby people defend the industry and its interest by being extremely cooperative with the authorities."

Her Excellency, the Minister added, "Jordanians are very hospitable, simple and kind, making tourists feel at home. The hospitality is not artificial and nothing sort of imposed on the population who extend it spontaneously anyway. They understand the concept of the guest who's not just a foreigner passing by. It is incumbent upon us to recognize that tourism needs dialogue with the indigenous community. And that tourism is beneficial to the community, affecting their lives in terms of job generation. Exposure makes tourism a two-way road with Jordanians learning about the visitors' lifestyle and vice versa," she said.

 "The most dangerous is to deal with close societies who are embedded within themselves and have no understanding of other cultures. I emphasize exposure and integration of cultures (over receipts, joint employment, contribution to economy) to a tourism forum. With the help of the media, the world will see Islam, the Middle East, the Arabs and Jordanians in the proper context."

It is worth-noting the WTO is hard at work in not only promoting crisis communication and preparedness in the Middle East, but also bridging cultural divide through tourism.

Dr. Bouran said they have developed a national strategy consisting of strengthening international marketing efforts to enhance the country's image and open new markets to increase the arrivals of high-yield tourists. "Our national tourism strategy has been approved to double receipts to US$1.8 billion (JD 1.3 billion), create 51,000 jobs and earn US$641 million (JD 455 million) in annual taxes by 2010." The strategy is expected to increase market competitiveness and visitor yield by creating innovative and diverse products, at the same time increase the quality of tourism education and training to ensure highly professional human resources and quality services.

This vision will enhance the institutional capacity of public sector organizations supporting tourism development and provide sound, legal and regulatory systems for operators and investors. "In 2004, strategy partners increased the budget of the Jordan Tourism Board and began implementing an open-skies policy. They have established a National Tourism Strategy implementation unit to steer the action plan and develop the structure for private sector development in public tourism assets," she said adding that they are very much on-track with the master plan. "His Majesty King Abdullah bin Hussein supports this strategy and the industry. He views tourism as a venue which hinges on the economic, social, cultural and cross-cultural issues in Jordan." Further, King Abdullah urged Iraqis October 3 to participate in Jordan's political process in the run-up to a referendum on a newly drafted constitution out October 15.

"Accessibility to Jordan from many international locations has played a significant part in our destination's popularity, as well as our relaxed visa policies. Visas are not required for most Europeans, Americans, and people from some Arab countries. In instances where visas are needed, they can be obtained at the airport," Bouran said. The Interior Ministry authorized the directors of border posts and airports to extend visitors' permits and issue 6-month visas upon entry to tourists in a move designed to further facilitate their stay in the country. Quoting the Public Security Department's figures, the ministry said 1,682,5520 tourists have arrived in the Kingdom since the beginning of 2005.

"The economic potential of tourism outweighs that of other industries in Jordan and this is recognized by substantial investment from the public and private sector," Bouran added. While the private sector ensures the country's hotel stock matches demand, the Ministry of Tourism actively promotes Jordan as a safe and secure destination, highlighting its attractions.

 A lot goes with shifting populations, including the positive surge in tourism arrivals and social issues, ills and malaise in society. Jordan remains steadfast however securing its borders, keeping the country safe and holding on its image and reputation of political neutrality. That said, Jordan go on.