AJLOUN - Visitors to Ajloun can soon enjoy an improved and expanded range of services, thanks to a grants programme that supports small- and medium-sized businesses along the Ajloun Heritage Trail.
The grants were distributed at a ceremony on Thursday, in accordance with an agreement signed by the USAID Jordan Tourism Development Project (Siyaha) and the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) in March.
"Today marks a significant step in our efforts to develop a tourist trail in Ajloun and involve the local community in tourism," Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Suzanne Afanah told the beneficiaries, emphasising that the grants would benefit both the local community and visitors.
"Residents of the villages that lie along the trail will be able to be part of the tourism industry and benefit directly from it, while tourists will have the opportunity to experience a wonderful part of Jordan," she said.
Twenty-five out of 200 applications were selected to receive grants supporting businesses such as accommodation, food and beverage services, handicrafts and horse carriage tours along the trail.
In 2009, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, in cooperation with Siyaha, began constructing the 25km trail, which encompasses several villages and the Ajloun Nature Reserve before ending at Qalaat Al Rabad.
Stops include Baoun, home of the 15th century Sufi poet Aisha Al Baouniya, and Tel Mar Elias, which some believe to be the birthplace of Elijah/Elias, who is revered in the three Abrahamic faiths.
"The Ajloun trail grant programme will help prepare local entrepreneurs and businesses to receive tourists and provide services to visitors to the area," acting USAID Jordan Mission Director Dana Mansouri, said on Thursday.
Apart from providing grants, the project will support the beneficiaries with guidance and supervision on technical and management issues such as safe food handling, hospitality skills and pricing, while RSCN will supervise the implementation of the grants and help the owners develop their businesses.
"We hope these projects will contribute to improving the living standards of local communities and raising their awareness on protecting forests as an economic resource from which they can benefit," RSCN Director General Yehya Khaled said at the ceremony.
One of the beneficiaries, Adla Mahawreh, told The Jordan Times that her in-house shop selling beverages and food, including the traditional taboon bread, would benefit from the financial and technical support provided by the grant: "It will increase my income raise my self-esteem and open future opportunities for me," she said.
Another beneficiary Hanafi Zaitoon, who runs a horse carriage that transports tourists around the trail, said he only had one carriage at the moment, "but after the grant I will be able to get more".
"The carriage design is based on a traditional model made by our ancestors, and I built it myself," he said, adding that the improved services will "definitely" bring more tourists to the area.
By Jakob Jessen
© Jordan Times 2010
