AMMAN // Jordan’s tourism industry, one of its main money-earners, is being killed off by regional conflicts.
A haven of peace surrounded by war, Jordan is turning to contingency measures to try to revive its tourism industry which is suffering because of the raging violence in neighbouring Iraq and Syria.
Tourism in 2014 contributed 14 per cent of the kingdom’s GDP, to the tune of US$4.4 billion (Dh16.16bn), the second highest earner after remittances from expatriates.
But the flow of tourism revenue is becoming a trickle.
“For three days I haven’t had a tourist come in here,” said 30-year-old Mohammed at his souvenir shop in central Amman.
“Things are slowing down, and each year seems to be worse than the last.”
The Hashemite kingdom has no shortage of acclaimed wonders, both natural and man-made.
Its rose-pink rock-hewn city of Petra is one of the seven wonders of the world, and the Roman ruins at Jerash in the north of the country near the border with Syria are among the region’s most impressive.
The desert at Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea have always figured high on the list of the country’s natural attractions.
Until recent years, such sites attracted hundreds of thousands of western tourists.
But now they are devoid of visitors, frightened off by regional unrest in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring.
The head of the country’s tourism office, Abderrazak Arabyat, has now come up with an emergency plan aimed at raising Jordan’s international profile.
“There’s no magic wand we can wave to fix things in a few weeks,” Mr Al Fayez said.
“But we have put in place an ambitious plan targeting in particular the countries of the Gulf” such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
New markets including Turkey and the Far East will also be approached, among them China, Japan and South Korea, with the hope of seeing positive results “from next year”.
* Agence France-Presse
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
COMPANY PROFILE
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Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Company%20profile
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Company%20Profile
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The specs
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Power: 310hp
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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Company%20Profile
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