Al-Suwair: The Tourism Crisis in Petra is Mainly Linked to the Decline in Air Traffic
Amman3 min read
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Adnan Al-Suwair, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Petra Development and Tourism Authority, said that the directives of His Highness Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II, Crown Prince, regarding Petra were clear about the need to support the tourism sector and look at it more, in light of the crisis facing the tourism sector.
Al-Suwair added, on Sunday evening, that meetings were held more than once under the chairmanship of His Highness the Crown Prince to discuss the situation in Petra, noting that the directives focused on supporting the region, especially since the current tourism crisis may last and its end cannot be determined.
He explained that Petra relies entirely on inbound tourism, and tourism represents the authority's economy and the main source of income for citizens in the region.
He pointed out that the government has supported the authority since tourism stopped, where work was done on three axes, namely: developing Petra, modernizing infrastructure, and rehabilitation and training.
Al-Suwair explained that work is currently underway on four important projects inside Petra, including the Darat Road project, which he said will "change the face of the city completely", by creating new gardens and a "Plaza" square and improving traffic flow.
He also pointed to the circular route project, which is the Um Sayhoon Development Road project, explaining that the road will contribute to serving tourist movement and implementing the transport plan, in addition to establishing a development square at its beginning with an area of 2500 square meters.
Regarding plans to attract tourists in light of regional conditions, Al-Suwair said that the problem in Petra is "simply a problem of low-cost aviation", explaining that the planes that were a major reason for the growth of tourism in Jordan are not coming to the Kingdom now, and their flights have been postponed for a long time.
He added that the aviation sector in Egypt was not affected to the same degree, due to its distance from the "epicenter of the crisis", while at the same time pointing to the existence of tourism programs that benefit from flights arriving in Egypt, as tourists come via boats from Aqaba to Taba to spend a day in Petra, in cooperation with the relevant authorities.
Al-Suwair pointed to a trend towards new programs linked to reviving the golden triangle, through linking Aqaba, Riyadh, and Abu Dhabi, confirming that work is ongoing to improve the situation of the tourism sector and develop infrastructure, in parallel with preparing programs capable of supporting tourism.
