Tourism in the Kingdom of Jordan Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Tourism in the Kingdom of Jordan - Case Study Example It is a small Arab country with not much supply of water and other natural resources like oil. Debt, poverty, and unemployment are fundamental problems, but since 1999, some broad economic reforms have been in place in a long-term effort to improve living standards. Under the leadership of King Abdullah, Jordan's government has taken some concrete steps towards encouraging foreign investment in the country. Key areas where maximum attention is being paid include tourisms and services. The country's economy largely depends on services, tourism and foreign aid. Tourism in general is being developed the world over as a revenue spinning industry Jordan too has an ambitious plan for inviting the attention of the world's touring community towards its vast historic treasures and nature's gifts to the country. Thourhg this study we'd like to analyse; Tourism being one of the key sectors for Jordanian economy, the government of Jordan has realized the potential of this rapidly growing sector, and the government is supporting the industry with aggressive marketing strategy with an aim to promote Jordan as a boutique destination. Despite being in the midst of disturbed surroundings the number of regional tourists is rising sharply. Now the government is paying more attention towards attracting the high-yield visitors from outside the Middle East. In this era of globalisation, tourism is said to drive transnational flows of people, commodities and capital. This flow results in circulation of globally coordinated production networks governed by Multi national corporations in the business of airlines, tour operators and hotel management (Hazbun, 313). As per the studies undertaken by organisation like CountryWatch (83) and Country Insight (3), the flow of tourists has been on an upward journey. The figure below takes a look at the num ber of tourists that arrived in the region for the period 1998-2004. Until the late 1990s Jordan's tourism sector remained hugely underdeveloped, with regional political instability doing most of the damage. Since there was no real effort on the part of the government of Jordan to come out of the shell and market the potentials of the country, the region remained largely un-explored. But with the concepts of globalisation have now made the government understand the benefits of being pro market. In fact Jordan realizes (EIU, 1) that it can't be a direct competitor for other popular Arab holiday destinations like Cairo or Beirut, but now Jordan has actually started selling its holiday proposition by way of offering quiet family holiday. This has materialized in earning revenues as well, which is reflected by some of the key points of tourism industry in Jordan like (Euromonitor, 2); Jordan received US$783 million in tourism receipts in 2004 and this is expected to rise to US$826 million in 2005. Tourism accounts for around 10% of the Kingdom's GDP. Tourism is the largest export sector, the second largest private sector employer and the second most important form of foreign exchange for the country. The