His Majesty King Abdullah, accompanied by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, on Sunday met with private tourism sector representatives in Aqaba.

During the meeting, attended by Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, King Abdullah urged coordination among the public and private sectors and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) to advance tourism and enhance competitiveness, as well as promote tourism through an e-calendar updated weekly to show key events and activities in the city.

His Majesty stressed the need to develop and invest in the King Hussein International Airport to serve the tourism sector in Aqaba and boost the number of visitors.

Moreover, the King directed stakeholders to form specialised taskforces to enhance the quality of services, noting that he will closely follow up on implementation efforts.

For his part, Prime Minister Razzaz highlighted the government’s efforts to develop the tourism sector, given its significant role in providing job opportunities for young Jordanians, and the support it provides to the national economy.

Tourism Minister Majd Shweikeh expressed the government’s readiness to cooperate with the private sector and ASEZA to support tourism.

ASEZA Chief Commissioner Nayef Bakhit said the authority is working to facilitate access to Aqaba and capitalise on low-cost aviation in support of the tourism sector and investment promotion.

For their part, private tourism sector representatives expressed appreciation for His Majesty’s support, calling for a tourism chamber to be an umbrella for all tourism-related activities, as well as exhibitions and conferences to promote tourism and commercial activity in Aqaba.

Royal Hashemite Court Chief Yousef Issawi, Adviser to His Majesty for Communication and Coordination Bisher Khasawneh, Adviser to His Majesty for Policies and Media Kemal Al Nasser, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maj. Gen. Yousef Hneiti attended the meeting.