Hashemite Kingdom Of Jordan Tourism Essay

This policy review aims to review the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and its new industries in the current scenario to make it a happening tourist destination in the world. This review also includes substantive findings as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to the topic of Development of New Industries in Jordan. The Kingdom of Jordan has been also review of its policies in Investments across the kingdom in hope to make the kingdom a world class destination. This review also refers to various types of Industries in tourism that are making way into the country even though traditionally well known for this various types of tourism in the region, recently Jordan has been trying to fully capitalize the various tourisms it has to offer by coming up with various Marketing policies and has been support its policies by investing heavily in and around various tourist destinations. The country has been able to successfully make inroads on its investments so far even though it has a troublesome neighborhood in the Middle East region. The kingdom has made profits even though they have dropped in numbers in comparison to the previous financial years, considering the Spring Uprising, Civil wars and Insurgency in the Arab world has led to concerns of security issues. Considering the fact that Jordan has been Pro-west country, it has managed to balance traditional values of Islam at the same time being liberal in its approach towards the development of country.

Methodology:

The methodology used to review the various types of industries and development policies is the use of Porters Diamond model approach to Industries with conditions, have been analyzed with also the role of Government and Chance contributing to the development of Tourism industry as a whole contributing to the development of the country. A cluster analysis has also been done of the various contributing factors for the development of the tourism industry in particular.

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Tourism and the economy

Tourism is major sector in Jordan’s economy. In 2010, 8 million tourists from various countries visited Jordan, with tourist spending amounting to about 3.5 billion USD. An additional US$1 billion was earned through medical tourism to the kingdom. In 2011, Jordanian tourism lost $1 Billion due to the instability across the region. Generating 2 billion and 423 million Jordanian Dinars ($3.461 billion), tourism is recognized as a major player of the Jordanian economy. The sector has been the key in attracting local, regional and international investment, in addition to creating jobs, and generating revenues.

Its major tourist attractions include visiting historical sites, like the worldwide famous Petra (UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985, and one of New Seven Wonders of the World), the Jordan River, Mount Nebo, Madaba, numerous medieval mosques and churches, and unspoiled natural locations (as Wadi Rum and Jordan’s northern mountainous region in general), as well as observing cultural and religious sites and traditions. Jordan also offers health tourism, which is focused in the Dead Sea area, education tourism, hiking, Desert Skiing, Sky diving, Scuba diving in Aqaba’s coral reefs, pop-culture tourism and shopping tourism in Jordan’s cities. More than half of the approximate 4.8 Arab tourists in 2009, mainly from the GCC, said they plan to spend their holidays in Jordan.

So The Kingdom of Jordan has different of Tourisms to offer to the world

-Religious Tourism

-Historical Tourism

-Nature Exploration

-Medical Tourism

-Education Tourism

-Shopping Tourism (Duty-Free)

-Adventure Sports

-Cultural Tourism

Global Perspective

Tourism is one of the biggest and most important movers of the world economy. The world tourism organization expects the number of tourists to grow to 935 million people in 2010.

Statistics reveal that tourism accounts for 15% of global GDP, 7% of global investment, and almost 9.6% of total government expenditure. The sector has created 200 million jobs worldwide, representing 11% of the total global workforce. The UNWTO forecasts a growth in international tourist’s arrivals of between 4% and 5% in 2011, below the estimated percentage of growth rate in 2011 distributed by regions:

World: 5%

Europe: 4%

Asia-Pacific: 7-9%

Americas: 5-6%

Africa: 6-7%

Middle East: 8-10%

Job opportunities

Tourism accounts more than 40,000 direct jobs and an estimated 130,000 indirect jobs impacting the lives of more than 800,000 people. Current plans aim at raising direct tourism jobs to 60,000, in addition to creating 300,000 direct and indirect job opportunities in supporting sectors.

Direct jobs in the tourism sector (2002-2010)

The growth of the tourism sector has helped create and develop thousands of small- and medium-sized businesses around the Kingdom. It has also influenced important changes in Jordan’s work culture. Women currently constitute 10.0% of the current job total. Growth has also been reflected on the educational system, where hospitality is becoming a favorite subject for high school students. Graduates can pursue specialized education at the Jordan Applied University College of Hospitality and Tourism, in addition to a number of the Jordanian universities that teach the Hospitality specialty.

Tourist numbers and expenditure levels

The number of tourists visiting Jordan has been increasing steadily over the past few years. In 2010, overnight visitors totaled 4.55 million, while same day visitors reached 3.7 million. Focus on the quality of tourists (especially from Europe) has raised the number of nights spent in the Kingdom and increased tourism income to 2.423 billion Jordanian Dinars, a decrease of 17.2% from 2009.

Income from tourism (2004-2010)

Investment in the tourism sector

This decade has witnessed a flurry of investment activity in the tourism sector to meet the increasing numbers of visitors to the Kingdom. Investment in tourism has totaled almost 2.9 billion Dinars between 1996 and 2009, with direct foreign investments constituting 53%.

Investment levels in tourism (2004-2009)

Jordan has been investing heavily in its tourist infrastructure in the form of luxury hotels, spas, resorts, and massive real estate projects, as The “Abdali Urban Regeneration” Project and the “Marsa Zayed” in Aqaba. Luxury residential housing like Sanaya Amman and the Living Wall are attracting vacationers to buy property in Jordan. Queen Alia International Airport is being expanded to handle passengers annually up to 9 million in the first phase; 12 million in the later phase.

Tourism Development Currently USAID is an active partner in the development of the Jordan Tourism Industry with the continued support of the Jordan Tourism Development Project (Siyaha), currently in its second project lifecycle.

Jordan Tourism Project (SIYAHA)

Duration: 2005 – 2008

Funding: US$17,424,200

Implementing Partner: Chemonics International

Jordan Tourism Project II (SIYAHA)

Duration: 2008 – 2013

Funding: US$28 million (Estimated)

Implementing Partner: Chemonics International

With the establishment of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone, nearly 20 billion dollars have been invested in sole coastal city of Jordan. Luxurious resorts such as Saraya Aqaba and Tala Bay are being constructed with more in the pipleline like the $1 billion Ayla Oasis.[9] With Jordan becoming increasing popular as a cruising destination, a new and modern cruise ship terminal is being constructed in the Marsa Zayed project.

Hotel rooms

There are a total of 23,882 hotel rooms in Jordan, of which 6,697 are in 5-star hotels, 3,285 in 4-star hotels, and 3,132 in 3-star hotels. Several projects are underway that are expected to add 5,000 rooms by the year 2012, mostly in Aqaba and the Dead Sea.

JORDAN TOURISM HOSPITALITY ANALYSIS

The tourism cluster map is centered on these four pillars of tourism: Accommodation, Restaurant & Food service, Transportation and Tourist Attractions.

It includes small vendors to USAID. (J. Fischer&I. Khan, 2009)

Tourism Cluster Map

E-tourism

Travel agencies

Tour operators

IFCs

Jordan Tourism Board; Jordan Hotel Association; Jordan Society of Tourist and Travel Agents, Fair Trade Jordan

Attractive tourism offerings:

Historical tourism;

Religious tourism

Medical tourism;

Eco-tourism

Financial Services

Government

AGENCIES; Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Public Transport Regulatory Commission, Medical Tourism Directorate

Maintain Services

Restaurant & food service

Accommodation Hotels and Resorts

Transportation

Airlines, road system, railway, shipping

Construction Industry

International Organizations Technical & Financial assistance

Education institutions

For example:

Amman Hospitality College;

Jordan University of Hospitality

FACTOR Conditions

Jordan’s tourism industry relies heavily upon its historical and natural resources. The country ranks higher than many of its peers on the quality of its historical as well as its natural heritage, as well as highly on the openness of its people to tourism and to foreigners. However, various threats to the tourism sector also exist. For example, high concentrations of tourists threaten Petra, and degradation and environmental concerns related to the Gulf of Aqaba are also rising.

Ground transportation infrastructure plays a very important role in Jordan’s tourism. For one thing, it is the preferred means of entry to Jordan for 76% of foreign visitors. Jordan ranks lower on the quality of its ground transport than some of its leading regional neighbors. Some of the main problems the public transport sector faces are a very low level of coordination among transporters as well as an alarmingly high increase in accidents in recent years. The Public Transport Regulatory Commission was formed in 2001 specifically to oversee the public transport sector. The commission is currently addressing the problem of low-coordination by consolidating unprofitable routes.

Presently, a total of 11 universities (including three state-owned), 10 colleges and 16 vocational training centers are involved in providing tourism specific education. However, various business surveys indicate that a majority of the industry respondents were not satisfied with the quality of graduates produced by these institutes. The skills shortage might be a reason why in 2008 foreigners constituted 18% of the overall tourist workforce, up from 10% in 2004. The Government is also cognizant of this fact, and therefore allows new businesses in Aqaba to hire foreigners, up to 70% of the workforce.

RELATED AND SUPPORTING INDUSTRIES:

The importance of a national strategy for tourism buttressed by a strong public and private collaboration and coordinated development. For instance, popular tourist sites need to be supported by information and good infrastructure in order to create a strong brand and to generate repeat visitors. Similarly, good hotels and high quality services should support a good marketing campaign. Hence, a national tourism strategy becomes imperative for coordinated development (JNCO, 2007). The GoJ analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the salient pillars of tourism, including accommodation, transport, food, tourism services, and activities for each of the before mentioned niche markets.

Hotels and Restaurants

Jordan’s hotels and restaurants employ the bulk of the labor force working in tourism.

In 2008, they contributed 1.7% of GDP (ABC, 2009). Hotel accommodations range from one- to five star hotels. In 2008, five-star hotels accounted for almost half of the total nights spent. The hotel sector has managed to attract a substantial amount of investment in recent years. Catholic Student Bay (US$500M), the Ayla Oasis project (US$750M), the Saraya Aqaba project (UD$362M), the Sun Days Water Park (US$60M), the Aqaba Ishkar Kempinski Hotel (US$60M), the Royal Metropolis-Jordan Gate and Royal Villages of Amman (US$1B), the Dead Sea Holiday Inn Hotel (US$21M), and the Crown Plaza Hotel at the Dead Sea (US$49M).Many international hotel chains are competing in the industry and include some award-winning spas near the Dead Sea. In recent years, the tourism industry has gone through changing dynamics, where restaurants are becoming the high growth segment, while hotels are showing stagnancy. 40% increasing growth in the restaurant sector indicates a rising appetite of Jordanians for eating out.

A wide variety of international restaurant franchises have entered the market, which suggests increased competition in the industry. The stagnancy in the hotel industry might be explained by low occupancy rates or by the fact that Jordanian hotels are highly dependent upon European tourists for its demand. This is a market segment that is very vulnerable to changes in perceptions about Jordan’s security emanating from regional instability. The GoJ has been encouraging hotel construction, with special emphasis in the Aqaba specialized economic zone (JNCO, 2007).

Health Tourism:

Health Tourism is a core part of the tourism cluster. During the 1970s, Arab patients from around the region started arriving in Jordan for medical treatment. Today, Jordan’s health sector has a reputation for subspecialties, such as cardiovascular surgery, transplantation, cancer treatment, and plastic surgery. The private sector accounts for 54% of the hospitals and 46% of the beds available. It is soon to be a regional hub to medical tourist. The GoJ has been very responsive towards the needs of the industry. In 1998, the MoH established an office at the Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) to assist foreigners with immigration, information, and transportation to hospitals. Currently, the Medical Tourism Directorate follows up on complaints from foreign patients and works in collaboration with an association representing doctors and private hospitals. The Investment Law of 1987 also provides tax incentives for investing into the health sector.

The health industry, however, is suffering from stagnation. The total number of foreign patients increased only modestly from 95,000 to 108,000, between 1998 and 2005 (WHO, 2009). Given low occupancy rates in private hospitals (around 50%); this stagnation is not due to supply side constraints. Specialized hospitals are running at 70% occupancy (JNCO, 2007). Despite the potential of Jordan’s health tourism sector, there are threats on the horizon, including a shortage of qualified nurses due to brain drain. Also, as the Dubai Health Care city establishes itself, it will target the same labor market that has traditionally made up the bulk of Jordan’s health tourism industry. This is likely to double in occupancy as by 2015 200,000 to 250,000 patients are likely to visit Jordan.

DEMAND CONDITIONS

The industry shows a cyclical pattern in its demand, with the peak tourist season beginning at the end of July and lasting through the end of August, coinciding with school holidays. Most visitors come from Arab countries. Within the Archaeological Tourism segment, the demand is somewhat concentrated on Petra, which accounted for 26% of the foreign visitors who visited Jordan historical sites in 2008. This lack of diversification in terms of origin countries, as well as preferred tourist destinations, puts the industry at risk, while at the same time the lack of sophistication in demand discourages the development of more value-added options.

To elaborate further, while Arab visitors constitute 68% of foreign tourists, they contribute only 43% of the overall tourism receipts. One reason is that (in 2008) Arab visitors stayed an average of 3.9 days, compared to European visitors who stayed 5.0 days. Furthermore, in terms of nights spent, 30% of the Arab nights were at the cheapest accommodation available. In contrast, 43% of European nights were spent in five-star hotels, indicating that the Europeans have a much larger and more sophisticated demand than Arab visitors.

In broader terms, Europeans accounted for 54% of all the nights spent in Jordanian hotels rated 3 stars and above. European tourists also account for 91% of the nights stayed in camp sites.

With less than 15% of occupancy rates, camp sites are the most underutilized of all Jordanian accommodation options. Although the MoTA’s National Tourism Strategy 2004-2010 did target niche markets, such as adventure tourism, cruising, and eco-tourism, occupancy rates of camps show no improvement between 2004 and 2007.47

One of the challenges faced by Jordan is its location in a volatile region; it is very vulnerable to losing its customers, if the region experiences political turmoil. This highlights the need for Jordan to develop a sophisticated local demand that could support these high-value added businesses during times of turmoil.

CONTEXT FOR FIRM STRATEGY AND RIVALRY

On the context for firm strategy and rivalry, Jordan ranks highly compared to regional competitors on key metrics, such as visa requirements, government prioritization, government expenditure, and effective marketing and branding. The GoJ aims to work with the private sector to strengthen the industry’s institutional and regulatory framework and thereby improve the competitiveness of the tourism sector. Nonetheless, the cluster can better coordinate activities across the tourism value chain and increase representation at international travel and tourism fairs. Further, the cluster can explore tourism markets for athletic events and conferences, which are both currently untapped.

The Jordan tourism cluster is quite competitive with more than 400 hotels, over 350 travel agencies, about 70 tour operators, and an unaccounted number of tour guides. In 1998, the MoTA established the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) to market the cluster. The JTB is a joint initiative between the public and private sectors with an 80% and 20% ownership, respectively. By running a marketing campaign and providing information to cluster members, the JTB acts as a liaison among the different tourism businesses in the cluster value chain to promote the cluster.

The GoJ has always been very receptive to foreign investments. Jordan ranks 44 on the “Business Impact of FDI” ahead of Israel, UAE, Morocco, and Egypt, which rank 48, 49, 74, and, respectively (WEF, 2009). The JTB, in cooperation with the Jordan Investment Board (JIB), initiated the Tourism Investment Map, a regional map of investment opportunities in SMEs across the country in the tourism and hospitality sectors.

The GoJ has upgraded the cluster by enforcing standards for tourism vehicle requirements and other criteria for tour operators. The Touristic Specialized Transports Regulation requires that transport companies use technically reliable and state-of-the-art vehicles for their tourism operations. Also, the Ministry of Transport lists other criteria by which tour operators need to abide.

The Role of Government

The role of government bears mention, as a supportive and efficient bureaucracy is generally considered a key component of successful development of the tourism industry.

Jordan scored well (30th overall) on its T&T regulatory framework. This was driven primarily by its performance on safety and security (19th) and prioritization of T&T strategies (17th). In fact, Jordan scored 7th in overall government expenditure on travel and tourism. The most notable change for the better in recent years is that the government appears to have recognized the importance of tourism as an economic driver and, while it has handled the implementation of its tourism strategies imperfectly, it is at least taking steps in the right direction.

Additionally, proposed changes in the regulatory environment should enhance competition in the transport sector (especially in the deregulation of the airline sector), ultimately increasing quality and driving down costs.

Despite the positive support offered by the government to the tourism sector, this support is not yet translating into a constructive relationship between the public and private sectors. Over 75% of the industry believes that government bureaucracy is holding back the industry – over 80% state that government regulations are a direct obstacle to the industry or serve no clear purpose. When asked if government regulation is getting better, only 19% indicated that it is improving.

A few areas in which the government could still play a more productive role include the amount and quality of training delivered to key personnel, especially guides; more attention paid to some of the smaller but still important sites that will ultimately drive the country’s ability to retain tourists for a longer period of time; and a stronger overall promotion effort to communicate Jordan’s offer and to build the country’s brand. This includes the development of new products, research on new markets and niches, the devotion of more resources to international marketing, and greater focus on high potential markets. A final consideration is to enhance the frequency, quality, and results of public-private dialogue. The JNCT survey revealed that 66% of respondents resolved issues through personal connections (including individual government officials), against only 24% that utilized an industry association or formal public-private dialogue mechanism.

Chance:

Due to heavy insurgency in the neighboring countries of Jordan like Iraq, Syria and Lebanon the businesses in those countries may set up firms in Jordan that will make Jordan the gateway to Middle East. This may cause rivalry with many local businesses but at the same time will increase competitiveness. This will be also the reason for people who want to tour Middle East region may prefer due to the security. The inflow of refugees from Palestine, Lebanon, Syria will fill the demand gap for low-cost labor for the domestic market that will drive the development growth in the country.

Due to Shortage of natural resources like water and fuel, Jordan is focusing on Nuclear Energy to meet it growing domestic demand needs by mining of uranium. Due high Generic drug pricing the need for pharmaceutical raw material and search for cheaper source can be a chance for the increasing the pharmaceutical industry production in Jordan.

Jordan Tourism Statistics:

Types of Tourism per Area

Types of Tourism per Area

History & Culture

Eco & Nature

Religion & Faith

Leisure & wellness

Fun & Adventure

Amman

x

x

x

X

As-Salt

x

x

Madaba

x

x

Um Ar-Rasas

x

x

Mount Nebo

x

x

Jordan Valley & The Dead Sea

x

x

x

x

Karak

x

Petra

x

x

x

X

Aqaba

x

x

x

x

X

Jerash

x

x

X

Ajlun

x

x

Um Al-Jimal

x

Pella

x

x

UImm Qays

x

x

Shawbak

x

Desert Umayyad Casteles

x

Dana

x

X

Wadi Mujib

x

X

Wadi Rum

x

x

X

Azraq & Shwmari

x

X

Dibeen Forest

x

Hammat Maín

x

Mukawir

x

Anjara

x

Tall Mar Elias

x

Total Number of Arrivals and Tourists

Total Number of Arrivals and Tourists

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Total Number of Arrivals

4,677,018

4,599,243

5,586,659

5,817,370

6,712,804

6,528,626

Tourist (Overnight visitors)

2,384,474

2,353,088

2,852,809

2,986,586

3,546,990

3,430,960

Same Day Visitors

2,292,544

2,246,155

2,733,850

2,830,784

3,165,814

3,097,666

Tourism Incom/MJD

743.,2

752.6

943

1,021.6

1,460.8

1,638.9

No. of Package Tours tourists

137,660

145,601

254,145

338,787

278,341

359,625

Average Length of Stay

4

4.4

5

4.5

4.2

4.4

www.jordaninvestment.com:ecruos

Total Number of Arrivals and Tourists

Total Number of Arrivals and Tourists

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Total Number of Arrivals

4,677,018

4,599,243

5,586,659

5,817,370

6,712,804

6,528,626

Tourist (Overnight visitors)

2,384,474

2,353,088

2,852,809

2,986,586

3,546,990

3,430,960

Same Day Visitors

2,292,544

2,246,155

2,733,850

2,830,784

3,165,814

3,097,666

Tourism Income/MJD

743.,2

752.6

943

1,021.6

1,460.8

1,638.9

No. of Package Tours tourists

137,660

145,601

254,145

338,787

278,341

359,625

Average Length of Stay

4

4.4

5

4.5

4.2

4.4

www.jordaninvestment.com:ecruoS

Recommendations

Jordan needs to improve supply-side factors like tourism education, training outputs, and upgrading travel and utilize information technology to reach target market. Tourism sector is labor-intensive, which demands large number of well-trained young population. It means, they should have good senses of service and be relatively well-educated. Although several universities and many intuitions provide hospitality courses and training for people, the teaching qualities are uneven. So enhancing education quality is the key to improve the tourism competitiveness in global market.

The Kingdom of Jordan is a distinctive destination which offers diverse, and the year-round tourist experiences can enrich the lives of Jordanians and visitors. It is necessary to improve the overall competitiveness of Jordan’s tourism industry and enhance the tourist experiences through innovation in product development, better position and promote the tourism offering to global market so that Jordan can attract more foreign customers who have the strong purchasing power and drive better business performance in Jordan.

Although the Kingdom receives visitors from countries far away like Brazil, Australia, Korea and Japan, it is necessary to explore new markets throughout the world including China, Russia and other countries to increase the number of visitors. Those visitors from usually prefer to visit more than one destination at a time. Also, it should minimize the seasonal patterns of tourist arrivals to establish Jordan as a unique all-year-around diverse destination.

Turkey had witnessed a significant growth in the number of Arab tourists in the past few years, and it had succeeded in increasing tourism revenues from $12 billion in 2002 to $23 billion in 2011. If Jordan and Turkey have potential cooperation in the tourism sector and develop joint packages for long-haul tourists in near future, it will attract more visitors all over the world. Turkish carriers operate direct flights to these countries, which will help give tourists the option of visiting Jordan in the same trip. Bolstering cooperation between Arab countries and Turkey in tourism could encourage more investment in this sector in Jordan.