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Tourism has a-added value, with estimates indicating that about 40% of tourism income is revenue from which various sectors and the treasury benefit, while the rest goes to operational costs.
There is potential to increase the added value; all it takes is reducing costs such as energy, taxes, and others, but most importantly is the diversity which, in my opinion, is still lacking, especially regarding entertainment.
Well, is the Ministry of Tourism targeting the Russian market? This is not enough, as it should reach out to all Eastern European countries.
Why do Russian tourists prefer Egypt's Red Sea beaches?
The reason is appropriate cost, diversity, and a large number of hotel options.
Outbound tourism trips by Russian citizens have recently reached about 27 to 29 million trips annually, with total spending of nearly 40 to 50 billion dollars on international travel.
Egypt's beaches alone attracted about two million of them in 2025.
Jordan possesses a fertile environment to achieve the highest degrees of diversity thanks to its geographical, historical, and climatic qualifications.
Medical and wellness tourism: especially at the Dead Sea and Al-Hammah.
Cultural and archaeological tourism: Petra, Jerash, and Umm Qais.
Religious tourism: The Baptism Site (Al-Maghtas) and other religious sites.
Conference and business tourism: Recreational and beach tourism: Aqaba and the Dead Sea, with the latter lacking many elements.
Tourism diversity does not merely mean bringing in more tourists, but rather lies in "localizing" tourism services; meaning increasing reliance on local products and labor to raise the 40% percentage and ensure that tourism income does not leak abroad.
It is not enough to just say that safety and security are important factors, as there are cultural and social requirements that must change—or at least be neutralized—when dealing with tourism from different cultures. Although tourists explore the customs and culture in the societies they visit, those lurkers who have nothing to do but take pictures and search for trends that harm the country on social media must be stopped.
If the citizen realizes that tourism brings in hard currency and boosts the Central Bank's reserves, which preserves the purchasing power of the dinar to resist inflation affecting their food bill, they will know that tourism is their oil which they must protect.
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