Tourism Jordan’s 2024 tourism revenue drops By Pramod Kumar October 14, 2024, 8:02 AM Unsplash.com/Juli Kosolapova Tourism income from Jordanian expatriates and Arab visitors rose 5 percent and 11 percent year on year in the first nine months of 2024 Jordan’s tourism revenues in the first nine months of 2024 fell by 4 percent year on year to $5.5 billion. The decline was attributed to a 7 percent drop in tourist numbers, state-run Petra reported, quoting data from the Central Bank of Jordan. Despite the overall decline, tourism income from Jordanian expatriates and Arab visitors rose 5 percent and 11 percent year on year respectively during the period. Revenues from European, American and other foreign tourists dropped by 54 percent, 39 percent and 20 percent respectively, the report said. Last week the International Monetary Fund projected Jordan’s economic growth to increase marginally to 2.5 percent in 2025 as it granted access to $131 million under its $1.2 billion extended fund facility programme approved in January. The country has also signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with the UAE, strengthening economic ties and driving non-oil trade. Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, the UAE minister of investment, said that Jordan stands out as a promising partner in areas such as energy, manufacturing, tourism, healthcare and real estate, with bilateral investments surpassing $22.5 billion. In September S&P said the country’s tourism sector, which contributed 15 percent to GDP in 2023, will face slow down amid regional instability.
