Jordan’s Tourism Strategy and Aspirations for the Future

H.E. Issa Gammoh, Secretary General, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

Jordan hasIconic Attractions Quality AccommodationsEstablished Reputation

Yet, Jordan’s tourismWas severely underperforming Operated within a weak institutional frameworkLacked capacity to compete effectively on the global arenaLacked true partnership within industrySuffered 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 firstMobilized support from stakeholders for need of strategyDeveloped a comprehensive approach from vision to implementationCreated 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

HumanResources

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 ChallengesThe GroupLanguage Differences

Public Sector ChallengesTourism was not a priority

sector

Economic Value of TourismTOTAL 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 ImpactDirect 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