Amman, June 9 (Petra) -- The Board of Directors of the Jordan Hotels Association (JHA) on Tuesday met with a delegation from the Chamber of Tourism for the Northern Region (Aleppo - Idlib) of the Syrian Arab Republic to discuss strengthening tourism and hospitality cooperation and exchanging industry expertise.

The visiting Syrian delegation included the President of the Chamber of Tourism for the Northern Region, Ahmed Al-Mulla, Vice President Mohammad Wajih Hammash, General Assembly member for the restaurant sector, Abdul Fattah Najjar, and Chamber Advisor, Basel Mawass. They were received by JHA President Hussein Hilalat, Board Member Hassan Madi, and Board Member and Acting JHA Director General Mohammad Al-Qasim, alongside the JHA technical team.

Both sides reaffirmed the depth of fraternal ties between Jordan and Syria, emphasizing the importance of building effective partnerships between hospitality institutions to advance the tourism sector and stimulate joint economic and investment cooperation.

The two parties reviewed the current state of the hospitality sector, its challenges, and emerging opportunities. They underscored the value of exchanging successful practices in hotel management, operations, and service quality control, while aligning with international hospitality benchmarks.

Furthermore, the officials highlighted the necessity of training and qualifying the hospitality workforce, attracting top talent, and integrating them effectively into the labor market to satisfy industry demands and elevate human resource efficiency as the backbone of the hospitality sector.

The meeting also explored available investment opportunities in Jordan and Syria, looking into potential collaboration to attract hospitality investments by leveraging the diverse cultural, historical, and tourism assets of both countries to boost their presence on the regional tourism map.

Additionally, discussions covered hotel classification standards and the implementation of modern professional criteria to raise hospitality service levels and enhance the competitiveness of tourist facilities, alongside sharing expertise in quality control systems and institutional development.

Concluding the meeting, both sides expressed their commitment to maintaining ongoing communication and coordination to pave the way for joint initiatives serving the tourism sectors in both nations. The Syrian delegation expressed appreciation to the JHA for the warm reception, praising Jordan's experience in hospitality development, while Hilalat reiterated the JHA's keenness to support joint Arab cooperation.

//Petra// AF