Tourism income in Jordan decreased by 77.6% during the first quarter of this year to 175.3 million dinars ($264 million). In the same period in 2020, the number was 780 million dinars ($1.1 billion) according to the Central Bank of Jordan.
Earlier, the Central Bank revealed a decrease in tourism income in Jordan in 2020 by about 76% compared to 2019.
Data issued within a study of the World Tourism Organization, in cooperation with the National Academy of Tourism and Aviation Sciences Training in Jordan, indicated tourism revenues decline by 81% last year, compared to 2019.
Tourism income in Jordan
According to the study, dozens of hotels and more than 400 tourist restaurants and 400 popular restaurants and cafes in Jordan have closed, leaving about 14,000 employees losing their jobs.
The number of establishments operating in the tourism sector is about 4,500, employing more than 53,000 people in various disciplines.
The number of tourists who visited the Kingdom during the year 2019 increased to 5.4 million, an increase of 8.9% over the year 2018, according to joint data from the Central Bank and the Jordanian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
This increase led to the growth of the tourism income in Jordan to 4.1 billion dinars ($5.78 billion) in 2019, an increase of 10.2% over the year 2018, according to a separate report by the Central Bank of Jordan.
Most important sector
Tourism in Jordan is one of the most important sectors in the country’s economy, as it constitutes 13% of the gross domestic product.
Tourism income in Jordan reach about $4.3 billion annually, as about 5.3 million tourists visited Jordan in 2014 from different parts of the world.
Jordan is also one of the most important tourist attractions in the Middle East.
This is mainly due to its religious and historical importance, as it has other characteristics that make it a destination for tourists and visitors from different parts of the world throughout the year, especially with regard to medical tourism, and it is considered the fifth in the world in this field.
The country also has a very diverse topography, which is a bridge connecting the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe, which had a great impact on the course of its history.
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