Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Osama Dabbas received the Cabinet's approval for the recommended reduction in entry fees this week, which will be applied between June 6 and September 30.

Dabbas said the move was taken to encourage the thousands of Arab and Gulf tourists heading here during the peak summer season, to visit these sites. 

Gulf nationals, who constitute the largest segment of arrivals to the country each year, visit the Kingdom during the summer to enjoy the pleasant climate and recreational activities.

Visiting historical sites, however, is of little interest to most of them.  

Out of the 1.2 million tourists who visited these sites last year, only 40,000 were Arab nationals. 

Several promotional and marketing programmes have already been directed towards the Gulf market, with Jordan investing efforts to accommodate their needs and interests by diversifying the tourism product.

With Gulf vacationers driven mostly by leisure and recreational activities, most of the development has focused on that track with a steady increase in restaurants, outdoor cafes, malls and parks around the country.

Various other activities catering to younger visitors are also being promoted such as theme parks, horse riding and go-karting, as well as cultural shows in the capital and in Petra.

Aside from the regular tourists, a large number of Gulf families have homes in the country, many of them in Madaba, Ajloun and Jerash in the north, where the landscape and climate provide ideal vacation conditions.

A tourism official in Madaba told The Jordan Times that some 250 Gulf families have homes in the governorate, bringing much life and activity to the city every summer.

The reduction in tourist site fees would work to shift more interest to the area's tourist sites, the official added.

Petra tourism officials also welcomed the reduction in entry fees, which is currently JD21 for non-Jordanians, and was considered a deterring factor, particularly for large Gulf families.  

By Dalya Dajani

© Jordan Times 2007

 

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