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JORDAN’S tourism revenues rose 11.9 per cent year on year in the first half of 2025 to reach $3.67 billion, underscoring the sector’s resilience amid geopolitical tensions in the region.

According to data from the Central Bank of Jordan, the growth came despite a slight setback in June, when monthly revenues fell 3.7pc to $619.2 million, state-run Petra news agency reported.

Despite this, Jordan’s performance reflects a broader tourism surge across the Middle East, with a May release by the World Travel and Tourism Council showing the sector added $341.9bn to gross domestic product and 7.3m jobs in 2024, with projections of $367.3bn and 7.7m jobs in 2025.

Saudi Arabia led the region with a 148pc rise in international tourism revenue in 2024, according to its Ministry of Tourism, while Oman, the UAE, and Qatar continued to attract strong visitor flows through investment, connectivity, and major events.

Citing the central bank data, Petra said: “Tourism revenues from Asian visitors surged by 42.9pc during the first half of the year, while revenues from European tourists increased by 35.6pc, Americans by 25.8pc, Arabs by 11.5pc, and other nationalities by 43.0pc.”

It added: “Conversely, revenues from Jordanian expatriates visiting the kingdom registered a modest decline of 0.8pc over the same period.”

Spending by Jordanians on outbound tourism rose 3.3pc year on year in the first half of 2025, reaching $999.7m, despite a 22.7pc decline in June alone, when spending fell to $195.6m.

This comes on the back of a strong start to 2025, with Jordan welcoming 1.51m visitors in the first quarter – a 13pc increase from the same period last year – while receipts rose 8.85pc to 1.22bn Jordanian dinars ( $1.72bn), according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities’ first-quarter report.

The recovery was further supported by the return of air connectivity, which had nearly disappeared in 2024. New agreements with European carriers expanded the number of low-cost direct routes to 25 this year, including 20 to Amman for the summer and five to Aqaba in the winter. These routes are expected to bring in around 270,000 travellers, the report added.

Looking ahead, the ministry said it is developing a new National Tourism Strategy for 2025–2028, building on the previous plan and aligning with the country’s Economic Modernisation Vision.

The updated roadmap aims to diversify source markets, including China, India, Russia, Africa, and Southeast Asia, and promote high-potential segments such as medical, wellness, faith-based, adventure, and meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions, or MICE, tourism.

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Sunday, July 20, 2025

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