Jordan Aims to Woo More Asian Tourists

From Zairina Zainuddin AMMAN (Jordan), June 5 (Bernama) -- The Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) aims to increase the number of Asian tourists, including Malaysians, to the country to 30 per cent by end-2015. Its managing director, Dr Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat, said currently, Asian tourists to Jordan made up about 15 to 20 per cent. "The target is in line with the National Tourism Strategic Plan for 2011-2015 to attract tourists from Asia such as Malaysia, Indonesia, China and Japan. "We are focusing on marketing and promotional activities to grow international and domestic tourism numbers and revenue," he said. Abed Al Razzaq said this to reporters on the sidelines of the two-day conference on "Seizing Tourism Market Opportunities in Times of Rapid Change", here Tuesday. He said Jordan, which has many tourist attractions, has introduced six tourism activities to attract tourists. "They are religious tourism, eco-tourism, cultural heritage tourism, as well as health and wellness tourism," he said. Abed Al Razzak said lots of visitors visited Jordan after or before performing the umrah or haj. "We are trying to promote our tourism industry especially to Malaysians. The number will increase, definitely," he said. -- BERNAMA