During a meeting held at the chamber’s headquarters, the boards of directors of the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) and the Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association (JITOA) discussed the challenges facing association members and the tourism sector in general, particularly following the repercussions of recent regional events and their impact on this vital sector, which contributes about 14% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
According to a chamber statement on Thursday, the meeting reviewed key challenges, primarily the decline in bookings, high cancellation rates, and the impact on tourism movement due to regional developments. It also addressed challenges related to external marketing, airline traffic, and Jordan’s mental image in certain target markets.
During the meeting, the Amman Chamber of Commerce affirmed its adoption of the demands raised by JITOA and its commitment to following up on them with relevant official bodies. This stems from its role in protecting its members and standing by them during regional crises and circumstances that negatively affect the tourism sector, ensuring the sector continues its operations despite the challenges and regains its tourism momentum.
Senator Khalil Al-Haj Tawfiq, Chairman of the Amman Chamber of Commerce, stated that the current stage requires moving from diagnosing challenges to developing an urgent, actionable work program that aligns with the conditions being experienced by many companies operating in the sector, especially in areas or sub-sectors that rely on foreign tourism. He stressed that any program to support the sector will not succeed without a genuine and effective public-private partnership that includes every segment of the tourism sector.
He indicated that the chamber will call for an extensive meeting bringing together general assembly members from the tourism sector with all relevant parties, aiming to come up with practical, realistic, and implementable solutions that contribute to supporting tourism and enhancing Jordan’s competitiveness.
For his part, Nabih Riyal, Chairman of the Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association, stressed the importance of the partnership with the Amman Chamber of Commerce. He praised its initiative in adopting the sector’s issues and working to convey them to relevant authorities, which contributes to finding practical solutions to the challenges facing inbound tourism and boosts efforts to promote the Kingdom in external markets.
During the meeting, Riyal reviewed several challenges facing inbound tourism, chief among them the decline in bookings, high cancellation rates, and the impact of regional developments on certain external markets. He emphasized that the association will work on preparing an integrated marketing plan that does not overlap with the efforts of any other entity, but rather supports and complements them, to be presented to the ACC board of directors for study, looking into the possibility of adopting it and finding appropriate mechanisms to fund and implement it in cooperation with partners.
In turn, board members of the Amman Chamber of Commerce and attending JITOA members emphasized the importance of supporting all components of the tourism sector, given that it is an influential economic sector directly linked to the trade, services, transport, hotels, and restaurants sectors. They stressed the need to enhance coordination with tourism syndicates and associations to reach practical solutions to the challenges facing the sector, continue coordination during the coming phase, and establish a joint work program that includes following up on priority issues and strengthening communication with official authorities to serve the tourism sector and enhance its contribution to the national economy.
From the Amman Chamber of Commerce, the meeting was attended by Second Vice Chairman Bahjat Hamdan, Treasurer Khattab Al-Banna, and Deputy Director General of the Chamber Bashar Muqbel. From JITOA, it was attended by Awni Kawar, Eid Nawafleh, Nizar Stetiyeh, Fadi Sayegh, Nidal Bani Issa, and the Association’s Executive Director, Lama Mahadin.
Related Stories
