His Majesty King Abdullah, accompanied by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, chaired a follow-up meeting on Sunday at Al Husseiniya Palace on government plans to develop the tourism sector and increase its contributions to the gross domestic product.

Speaking at the meeting, attended by Prime Minister Hani Mulki, King Abdullah called for capitalising on Jordan’s tourism potential to increase the sector’s contribution to the economy and provide job opportunities for young Jordanians in the governorates.

His Majesty praised the efforts of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to develop the sector, commending the growth achieved so far and stressing the importance of ensuring that this trend continues.

The King urged a modern, strategic vision to enhance tourism, pointing to medical tourism as a key economic sector that has immense potential to develop into a full-fledged, competitive industry.

His Majesty added that coordination among the ministry, the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) and national carrier Royal Jordanian is crucial to support tourism.

In a presentation at the meeting, Tourism Minister Lina Annab highlighted what has been achieved since Crown Prince Al Hussein’s visit to the ministry in December 2017 to follow up on plans for developing the sector.

Annab said the ministry has devised a 2018-2022 strategy aimed at doubling the number of tourists over the next five years through bolstering the competitiveness of Jordan's tourism product, tapping into new markets, training human resources, and enhancing services offered to visitors.

The minister noted measures to encourage more Jordanians, Arabs, and foreigners to visit archaeological sites around the Kingdom, highlighting work with airlines like Ryanair to operate low-cost flights to Jordan.

The ministry is also finalising a deal with easyJet, a British low-cost carrier, to operate flights from the UK to Aqaba, according to Annab.

In addition, promotional campaigns have been launched in cooperation with online travel agencies, in parallel with promotional campaigns on social media, the minister said.

She noted that tourism receipts in 2017 witnessed a 12.5 per cent rise compared with 2016, while the number of visitors increased by 8.7 per cent.

This year, the positive growth trend has continued, and Jordan has been selected by numerous international media outlets a must-visit destination, Annab added.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Jafar Hassan, Adviser to His Majesty and Director of the Office of His Majesty Manar Dabbas, Adviser to His Majesty for Economic Affairs Mohamad Al Ississ, and JTB Managing Director Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat attended the meeting.