AMMAN - Some 35 Wadi Rum residents on Tuesday were officially equipped with much-needed entrepreneurial and business skills.
Members of tourism cooperatives and residents involved in tourism-related businesses such as handicraft workshops and campsites graduated with a better business knowledge after completing a six-month long business training programme yesterday.
The training came as part of USAID/Jordan Tourism Development Project efforts in coordination with the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) and the Wadi Rum Protected Area (WPA) management, to develop tourism capabilities in Wadi Rum, which attracts thousands of visitors each year, and encourage local communities to benefit from the ever-growing sector.
Implemented by the Noor Al Hussein Foundation (NHF), the programme provided training to some 35 participants, more than 75 per cent of whom are women, in business management, marketing and sales.
As part of the curriculum, participants attended courses certified by the International Labour Organisation on how to choose projects, market their venture, as well as financial management, planning and operational skills.
According to USAID Chief of Party Ibrahim Osta, the training provided essential skills for local entrepreneurs seeking to expand or start new businesses in order to enhance the management and diversity of area tourism businesses.
"The courses provided business know-how such as how to expand and change product lines to suit tourists, production, marketing skills - even how to open a chequing account and set prices," Osta told The Jordan Times, adding that the next step for most participants will be securing funding through micro-financing or grants.
Osta added that the training programme not only involved cooperatives and organisations but also attracted individual entrepreneurs who are looking to enter the market.
Abdul Rahman Al Mahaseen, from the Productive Village Cooperative, took part in the six-month training, which also focused on the administrative capacity to consider projects, evaluate and reach markets and develop production plans.
"The programme provided the main elements to enhance the growth of projects and ensure sustainability and economic development for cooperative members in Wadi Rum," Al-Mahaseen noted.
Mohammad Zoubi, community sevelopment programme manager at NHF, praised the active and engaged residents.
"Participants had the opportunity to take part in more than one training course and showed great commitment in attending the individual and group follow-up sessions, demonstrating a desire for personal development," Zoubi said.
The training, which was implemented by NHF and organised by the USAID/ Jordan Tourism Development Project, came as a step to aid local communities benefit from the Kingdom's growing tourism sector.
The USAID-backed Jordan Tourism Development Programme, which has recently trained Wadi Rum camp workers in first aid procedures, is continuing its assistance to help residents take advantage of the site's growing popularity amongst European and North American tourists and improving the economic and social welfare of local communities in Wadi Rum.
Some 14,808 tourists visited Wadi Rum in the first two months of this year, a 42.9 per cent increase from 2007, while the sector witnessed a 13.4 per cent increase in tourism revenues last year.
By Taylor Luck
© Jordan Times 2008
