Issa JEDCOx

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


Regulatory &
Institutional
Framework

Jordan
Tourism
Board

Ministry
of
Tourism


USAID

Subject
Matter
Experts

Strategy Steering
Committee

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
2011
-
2015

•
Doubling tourism receipts to reach
4
Billion


•
Increase
tourist expenditure


•
Increase
domestic and international visitors


•
Creation
of
25000
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