Tourism

Jordan’s tourism industry benefits greatly from a number of competitive advantages including its proximity to large regional feeder markets, diverse landscapes and climates, and the presence of major historical and religious sites. Although regional instability has dampened visitor numbers in recent years, the industry remains an important pillar of the economy, and continues to expand despite the challenges. Indeed, total bed nights spent in Jordan in the first nine months of 2014 stood at 3.92m across all categories of accommodation, an increase of 12.2% on the same period in 2013, while total room nights were 2.27m, up from 2.15m a year earlier. Elsewhere tourism and real estate developments in Aqaba, Jordan’s only coastal city, will help to boost hotel occupancy rates by generating economies of scale across the tourism industry.

This chapter contains an interview with Nayef Al Fayez, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities.