Amman, May 9 (Petra) – The Jordanian Economic Forum (JEF) held a dialogue session entitled "Petra... A Roadmap Towards Resilience and Adaptation." The session hosted Chairman of Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority, Adnan Sawa'ir, in the presence of the JEF's Chairman, Dr. Khair Abu Sa'ileek, and a number of board members.
According to a forum statement issued on Saturday, the session, held under the auspices of Haider Murad & Sons Group, discussed the conditions of the tourist sector in Petra and the challenges posed by regional developments to inbound tourism.
The activities also addressed the authority's plans to enhance resilience of the tourist city, diversify income sources, and stimulate development projects and infrastructure, which would ensure sustainability of Petra's economic activity.
Talking at the dialogue, Abu Sa'ileek stated the session discussed three main themes: investment, infrastructure, and awareness-raising efforts of development issues.
He noted projects such as establishing a light industrial zone requires a thorough study of the area's nature and actual needs.
Regarding Petra's relationship with UNESCO, he called for strengthening coordination and cooperation to achieve a "balance between preserving Petra's historical and archaeological value and developing its infrastructure and tourism services." He noted "flexible" mechanisms that allow for implementing development projects to serve visitors and the local community, while simultaneously maintaining the global position of the archaeological site.
For his part, Sawa'ir affirmed that Petra relies "primarily" on inbound tourism, noting approximately 83% of visitors come specifically to visit Petra.
He noted this situation makes the city "the most vulnerable" to any regional developments or crises that directly impact bookings and foreign tourism.
He stated that Petra's "unique" situation differs from other tourist cities in the Kingdom, as the authority's revenues and incomes of the local community depend primarily on foreign tourist tickets, which constitute the "main source of funding for projects, services, and infrastructure across the six districts of the Petra region." "Petra has an advanced and expensive infrastructure due to the difficult geographical nature of the region, " he pointed out.
He noted the city's tourism sector is facing difficult circumstances due to the sharp decline in the number of foreign tourists, as hotel occupancy rates did not exceed 6% during the last Eid holiday.
The current circumstances require steps to diversify sources of income and investment and not relying entirely on traditional tourism, he said.
//Petra// AG
