To say Little Petra is a long way off the tourist trail is an understatement. To get there we drive past the tourist police’s outpost, turn left and off-road alongside ancient, dried riverbeds and finally up a sand dune into the lee of a red sandstone cliff.
The only other people sleeping out under the stars are a few shepherds
AMMAN —Tourism Minister Lina Annab said that the number of tourists to the Kingdom in the first five months of the year increased by 10.5 per cent, compared with the same period of last year.
A total of 2.6 million tourists visited Jordan until the end of this year’s May, compared with 1.864 million visitors to the country in the same period of 2016.
The Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) Al Hussein Parks has been receiving around 2,000 visitors every day since the fasting month of Ramadan started, while King Abdullah II Park in Muqabalein has been receiving around 1,000 visitors daily, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani on Tuesday said that the Tourism Ministry’s instructions allow tourist facilities to work during Ramadan and provide services without violating the “sanctity” of the fasting month.
Muslims abstain from food and drink during Ramadan from dawn until after sunset.
Jordan’s tourism sector has witnessed a “considerable and promising” increase in the number of visitors since the beginning of the year, particularly from Asian countries, an official said in a recent interview.
The number of overall tourists reached 1.639 million visitors during the first four months of this year, compared to nearly 1.457 million over the same period last year, registering a 12.5 per cent growth, said Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) Managing Director Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat.
Last year marked another successful year for Jordanian tourism, with UK visitor numbers rising by seven per cent, compared to 2015, with Britain remaining the largest European source market for the Hashemite Kingdom.
The launch of the ExtraJORDANary campaign, in spring 2016, contributed to the positive arrival figures as travellers where able to book holidays through several new tour operators.
AMMAN — The pumping of water from three new wells in Petra District in Maan Governorate has begun at a capacity of 600 cubic metres per hour, in a bid to improve supply at the desert town, an official said on Monday.
AMMAN — A total of 2,609 people visited the tombs of Prophet Mohammad’s companions in the Southern Mazar in May, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Thursday.
Mohammad Sarairah, the supervisor of the shrines, said that 1,553 of the visitors came from Muslim countries, 373 visitors were Arabs and 683 were Jordanians. The shrines house the tombs of Jafar Bin Abi Taleb, Zaid Bin Haretha and Abdullah Bin Rawaha.
AMMAN — Illuminated decorations, crescents and stars have lit up downtown Amman in celebration of the holy month of Ramadan.
The illuminated decorations have turned the city centre into the main hub for Jordanians, who flock to downtown Amman right after the end of the fast-breaking iftar meal, often staying until the start of suhoor before dawn.
Initiated by the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC), the illuminations are part of a campaign implemented in cooperation with the Greater Amman Municpality and the Arab Bank, according to an ACC statement.
AMMAN — The Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) recently floated tenders for investment projects in Petra city worth JD100 million, PDTRA President Mohammad Nawafleh said on Wednesday.
AMMAN — The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) on Thursday released its eleventh edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI), ranking Jordan 95th out of 163 countries.
Published annually, the report ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness, based on a comprehensive data-driven analysis on trends in peace, its economic value and ways to develop peaceful societies
AMMAN — Royal Jordan Airlines on Wednesday announced plans to operate two weekly direct flights between Aqaba and Dubai as of June 8, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority Chief Commissioner Nasser Shraideh said that the flights will enhance tourism, as the UAE is the biggest investor in Aqaba, 330km south of Amman, with a value of $10 billion.
