| 13 Jan 2010 |
|
Most UK travellers unaware of Jordan's tourist offerings
- Text size
AMMAN - Other than Petra, British travellers are largely unaware of the tourist sites the Kingdom has to offer, according to a report released on Tuesday.
The qualitative research project unveiled yesterday was carried out to better understand the perceptions of UK tourists, who form an important source of tourism revenue, according to industry officials.
British tourists have long represented a traditional market, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Maha Khatib said, stressing that the market needs to be further utilised in order to maintain Jordan's status as a major destination.
"We do not need effort in understanding it, but we need to recognise the gaps, protect that market and make it grow as fast as possible," she said.
Supported by a grant from the USAID Jordan Tourism Development Project and carried out by the Jordan Tourism BoardJordan Tourism Board
(JTBJTB), the project sought to gauge levels of awareness and perception of Jordan as a tourism destination in the UK market.The report stressed the rising potential market of tourists with disabilities in the UK, who have a combined income of $6 billion.
British travellers are relying less on tourism boards and traditional guidebooks when considering travel destinations and are referring more to the experiences of previous travellers, with 70 per cent stating that they trust user-generated content on Internet forums, Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere.
Khatib underlined the misconception of Jordan as a "seasonal destination", identifying the need to promote the Kingdom, known for its temperate weather, as a year-round destination.
"We need to stress that Jordan is a place where you can enjoy your time in the coldest days of the winter and the warmest days of summer," she added.
Although the Kingdom witnessed a 56 per cent increase in British tourists in 2007, the same year Petra was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, this figure has declined by 6.2 per cent over the last two years, according to the JTBJTB.
, and tend to spend more money while in the Kingdom in comparison to other travellers.According to the survey, some respondents were unaware that Petra was located in Jordan.
Other associations made with the Kingdom included Roman ruins, and connections to films such as Lawrence of Arabia and Indiana Jones. The romantic and far-away scenery of the desert, such as Wadi Rum, appealed to the British market, as did the Kingdom's safety.
However, many of the visitors said Jordan exceeded their expectations as they were unaware of the diversity of sites the Kingdom has to offer.
British travellers, many of whom arrived in the Kingdom on package tours, tended to have longer stays, the report indicated, with an average stay of around 10 days.
The reliance of visitors on package tours bucked the trend of British travellers in general, an increasing proportion of whom are looking to travel independently, the study showed.
British visitors to Jordan were most likely to have visited Petra, as 93.2 per cent polled said they went to the rose-red city, closely followed by Aqaba and Wadi Rum.
Most of those who have yet to travel to the Kingdom, expressed interest in visiting Petra (90.3 per cent), followed by Wadi Rum (79 per cent) and the Dead Sea (78.2 per cent), according to the study.
British travellers who seek adventure tourism are not looking for physical activities, but rather to travel to far-off and exotic locations, the study showed.
Demand for eco-tourism is also rising in the UK, the report said, noting that the Kingdom can capitalise on its unique natural beauty in order to fully exploit the market.
JTBJTB Director Nayef Fayez stressed that the board is taking the study into consideration in reaching out to the UK market, underlining the need for further support from the private sector.
By Taylor Luck
© Jordan Times 2010
Zawya is a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties and subscribers. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by those third parties, including information providers, subscribers or other users of the Service, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of the Company. The Company neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on the Service by anyone other than authorized Service employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. The Company is not responsible for any infringement of intellectual property rights or breach of any applicable law or regulation, including regulation in relation to financial services or the distribution of financial products, defamation, data protection, telecommunications (including regulations relating to excessive use, spamming or other abusive activities) or obscene, offensive or illegal content). Under no circumstances will the Company be liable for any loss or damage caused by a member's reliance on information obtained through the Service. It is the responsibility of member to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through the Service. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice or other content.
Read the full Member Agreement
http://www.zawya.com/legal/NewsLetter.cfm?name=disclaimer
Post a Comment
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse.