AMMAN -- Greek officials on Tuesday highlighted the Kingdom's appeal as a destination for pilgrims from their country, and called for stepping up promotion of its religious and biblical sites in Greece.
During a meeting with Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Osama Dabbas yesterday, Greece's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Theodoros Kassimis and Greek Ambassador Konstantinos Karabetsis noted that sites such as Mount Nebo, Madaba and the Baptism Site would be very popular among Greek tourists, particularly pilgrims.
Yesterday's remarks were made during discussions on the current state of tourism cooperation between the two countries as well as means to enhance these efforts.
Jordan signed several agreements of cooperation with Greece in different fields, including technology, energy, trade and tourism, during His Majesty King Abdullah's visit to Greece in December last year.
The Greek officials and Dabbas shared views on the issues that need attention, working towards an action plan to see such developments progress.
These included boosting two-way tourism, marketing efforts and increasing the frequency of flights between the two countries, particularly for pilgrims.
Currently Royal Jordanian (RJ) has three weekly flights to Athens. An RJ source told The Jordan Times that these flights were sufficient for the current demand, but added they were willing to increase the frequency or size of these flights to meet new demand as needed.
Baptism Site Commission Director Dia Madani, who was at the meeting, told The Jordan Times that the Kingdom needed to utilise the vast potential of its religious sites to attract the Greek pilgrim tourist market, which is flourishing worldwide.
"The Greeks are known to enjoy religious tourism around the world, with thousands of pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem during religious holidays such as Easter and Christmas," said Madani.
"At the present time, few of these tourists come here... we can attract more with the proper promotional efforts in place," he added.
Officials from the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB), the Kingdom's leading entity for promoting Jordan abroad, yesterday acknowledged the importance of this market.
The board has recently begun tapping into this market and has a plan to expand its efforts steadily, JTB Managing Director Mazen Homoud told The Jordan Times.
"We've been setting our sights on the Greek market since last year, with participation in a leading Greek travel exhibition for the first time, and have been moving ahead on that track ever since," said Homoud.
"We have invited several representatives from the media and television on familiarisation trips and plan to enhance those efforts further, and are in close contact with our embassy in Athens," he added.
The JTB official noted plans to invite the head of the Greek Orthodox Church and an accompanying delegation to Jordan in the near future.
Kassimis and the Greek ambassador yesterday visited the Baptism Site, a key attraction in the country, and home to various biblical treasures.
Madani said a monastery currently under construction at the Baptism Site, funded by the Greek Orthodox Church, was of interest to the Greek officials, noting they may consider contributing to its funding.
The Greek government has been actively involved in various areas of cultural and archaeological value to Jordan over recent years and Greek experts have carried out excavations in the Tell Kafrein area, the Jordan Valley, and the Ghor Safi, where the Lot Monastery was discovered.
The Greek parliament also donated funds for a new bell tower adjacent to the site's St. John the Baptist Church.
The bells were sounded for the first time since the fifth century during the annual Theophany services there in January.
The Greek officials noted plans to offer several training scholarships for Jordanians in the fields of tourism and hospitality.
By Dalya Dajani
© Jordan Times 2007
