Jordan’s Tourism Strategy and Aspirations for the Future H.E. Issa Gammoh, Secretary General, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

Jordan has Iconic Attractions Quality Accommodations Established Reputation Yet, Jordan ’ s tourism Was severely underperforming Operated within a weak institutional framework Lacked capacity to compete effectively on the global arena Lacked true partnership within industry Suffered from being in a region with a stigmatized reputation Tourism is Jordan’s largest industry: first recipient of foreign direct investment, and second contributor to foreign exchange. However, in 2003 growth was far below potential.

First is first Mobilized support from stakeholders for need of strategy Developed a comprehensive approach from vision to implementation Created Strategy Steering Committee The Strategy was developed through a partnership between the government and the private sector using a value chain approach. Competing interests enriched the process by challenging everything.

Marketing & Promotion Product Development Human Resources Human Resources Regulatory & Institutional Framework Jordan Tourism Board Ministry of Tourism USAID Subject Matter Experts Strategy Steering Committee Strategy Steering Committee Membership Hotel Investors Tour Operators Airline & Tourist Board Tourism Public Institutions

Many challenges were faced along the way, and some persist. Industry Challenges The Group Language Differences Public Sector Challenges Tourism was not a priority sector

Economic Value of Tourism TOTAL IMPACT= Supplying inputs required to support tourism purchases Food Products, Raw Materials, Energy, Produce, Banking, Insurance, Advertising, etc. Indirect Impact As a result of direct and indirect demand, income generated gets spent domestically Household disposable income gets spent and re- spent in successive rounds as expenditure of one becomes income of another. Induced Impact Direct recipients of tourism expenditure on goods and services where tourists make purchases Hotels, Restaurants, Transport, etc. Direct Impact

Jordan’s Tourism Strategy The Value Chain

Integrating International Benchmarks WEF 9 - ICT Infrastructure (65, 2.6) WEF 2 - Environmental Sustainability (38, 4.9) Tourism Product Development Pillar WEF 6 - Air Transport Infrastructure (60, 3.1) WEF 7 - Ground Transport Infrastructure (65, 3.7) WEF # 8- Tourism Infrastructure (56, 3.8) WEF 13 - Natural Resources (87, 2.8) WEF 14 - Cultural Resources (91, 1.8) H R & Quality Assurance WEF 11 - Human Resources (70, 4.9) WEF 4 - Health & Hygiene (58, 4.8) WEF 1 - Policy Rules & Regulation (78, 4.1) WEF 5 - Prioritization of Travel & Tourism (16, 5.5) WEF 3 - Safety & Security (15, 6) COMPETITIVENESS-BASED NATIONAL TOURISM STRATEGY National Tourism Strategy Pillars weaving in World Economic Forum Competitiveness Index Marketing Pillar WEF 5 - Prioritization of Travel & Tourism (16, 5.5) WEF 10 - Price Competitiveness (37, 5) WEF 12 - Affinity for Travel & Tourism (9, 6.1) Tourism Awareness Gender Integration Enabling Environment Pillar

Economic Benchmarks 1.International visitor expenditures – export tourism foreign earnings – expressed in JD’s 2.Domestic visitor expenditures – expressed in JD’s 3.Tourism balance of payments – tourism earnings less expenditures by Jordanians travelling abroad 4.Employment – jobs and job equivalents created in the economy by tourism 5.Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) attracted 6.Taxation and other income to national treasury

Social Benchmarks 1.Employment of Jordanians 2.Employment of females 3.Basic Levels of pay 4.Distribution of tourism income within Jordan 5.Support to traditional rural sectors – agriculture, crafts, food production etc 6.Community engagement in tourism

National Targets Doubling tourism receipts to reach 4 Billion Increase tourist expenditure Increase domestic and international visitors Creation of new jobs Enhancement of enabling environment to empower industry to create global competitive advantage

Strategic Objectives Grow domestic and international visitor number sand tourism receipts Improve country access and expand quality and diversity of authentic visitor experiences Balance labor demand and supply and develop a professional workforce Raise industry competitiveness and business performance

To ensure the process of updating the strategy is most inclusive, all facets of the industry are included. 45 Private organizations 7 Public Organizations 9 Months 57 Meetings