AMMAN -- Leading tourism authorities on Sunday welcomed plans for an electronic tour guide to enhance travellers' knowledge of the country's attractions.
The Jordan 360 CD project, developed by local IT company Primus with the support of the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB), was announced during a signing ceremony between the two sides yesterday.
The project features a wide range of images of key modern and historical, religious and archaeological sites in Jordan and related information about each.
Primus Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Amer Nasereddine said the project was a valuable tool in complementing promotional tourism efforts on a regional and international level.
"This project is going to serve as an important window for those interested in learning about what the country has to offer, particularly the wealth of tourism attractions it holds," said Nasereddine.
"Viewers can get a wide range of information about these sites and their locations by clicking on their images, and find other relevant information for their trip," he added.
The project, estimated to cost around JD250,000, will entail the development, creation and distribution of 100,000 CDs.
The JTB will be supporting the marketing effort with the help of its eleven branches in Europe and North America.
The CDs will also be distributed through Primus' offices in the US and the region, and venues such as international trade and travel exhibitions, tourism offices and Jordanian embassies.
Naserridine pointed out that the project also entails developing a website, www.jordan360.com, to enhance exposure as well as update relevant tourism information on the site each week.
This, he said, may include information about the latest activities taking place in any given tourist site.
Naserridine told The Jordan Times he expects the project to be launched in February 2007.
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Munir Nassar yesterday commended the project, noting it was a qualitative leap in the type of marketing tools being utilised to enhance tourism.
He added that tourism in the country showed a strong performance so far this year, with overall visitor arrivals rising 8.2 per cent from January to July compared to the same period of last year.
Preliminary figures released by the Ministry of Tourism showed that a total of 3,395,552 tourists visited Jordan in the first seven months of the year.
JTB Managing Director Mazen Homoud yesterday described Jordan 360 as part of the growing vested interest of local private companies in sharing in the cost of marketing Jordan, which had long and largely fallen on the shoulders of the Ministry of Tourism and JTB.
He noted, however, that marketing is complex and requires a close study of target markets to ensure returns on investments made to promote Jordan in these destinations.
Homoud said the JTB will be utilising Jordan 360 within its own promotional efforts on the regional and international levels.
At this stage, the content of Jordan 360 will be developed in Arabic and English.
According to Primus, five other languages are being considered, depending on market needs, including Spanish, Chinese, Russian and French.
By Dalya Dajani
© Jordan Times 2006
