Especially because the turmoil in the Middle-East is affecting the tourism industry in Jordan. And not for the better.
Jordan has a quite well developed tourism infrastructure.[1] That means hotels, restaurants, tours and tour operators, airports, information and visitor centres etc are abounded. Of course they have a lot of pretty 'stuff'in the country to see as well, like Petra. But they didn't build that especially for the tourists ;-).
Tourism has become the largest industry in Jordan the last few years. And that is where things 'go wrong' in current events. Even though Jordan is a very safe and stable country (we get told all the time by almost everybody), it is surrounded by 'crazies'. Even for me the direct environment of Jordan make me hesitate in taking this trip. Jordan isn't Syria or Iraq, but for the general public it kind of is. That means less and less (Western) tourists are visiting the country. The last three years in a row, the tourist number have declined by 40% each year, as we got told at the USAID talk by Ibrahim Osta. That is a catastrophic blow to the entire industry. Where people left their traditional jobs for ones in tourism, they now aren't making any money. They have become economically depended on a industry under duress.
For me that really shows the darker side of tourism. It is a great industry, but very much relies on a complex variety of factors.[2] Publicity is needed in Jordan to stimulate tourism, and show that not all of the Middle-East is in chaos.
I bought a refrigerator magnet today in a touristic area and slipped the vendor an extra half dinar. It may not be much, but at least it's something.
1. See Tim Edensor in Jamal, Tazim, and Mike Robinson, eds. The SAGE handbook of tourism studies. Sage, 2009. on the globalization of tourism
2. William, S. (2009). Tourism Geography: A new synthesis. London: Routledge
1. See Tim Edensor in Jamal, Tazim, and Mike Robinson, eds. The SAGE handbook of tourism studies. Sage, 2009. on the globalization of tourism
2. William, S. (2009). Tourism Geography: A new synthesis. London: Routledge
It's sad to hear that so many peoples lives are affected by these 'crazies', as you elegantly put it. ;-). Of course we hear the news about all the victims and refugees in these war-thorn countries itself, but quit frankly I never considered the consequences for the neighboring countries. It think it's good you point this out in your blog. I like to do my part as well, could you pick me up a magnet also. Lets not scrimp and make it a fancy one.
BeantwoordenVerwijderen