‘Won’t blame West, but will be surprised if India looks at Middle East as a unit’: Jordan Tourism Minister

Was tourism to Jordan greatly impacted after the Israel-Hamas conflict?

Sadly, yes. Usually, 18% of our tourists come from Europe and the United States. We lost 70% of that. But the decline in the numbers from Asian countries surprised us more.

I would not blame the West for looking at the Middle East as one unit but I would be surprised if we are looked at so, in India. Amman is different from other cities in the region. Amman has been safe.

Though we received 6.2 million tourists in 2023, there has been a drop after the Israeli aggression in Gaza, in the fourth quarter of 2023. Things have picked up in 2024 but the profile has changed.

Now, half of our tourists come from the Arab world itself, compensating for the chunk that comes from the West.

Where does India stand? And what are the other important markets?

In 2023, we had 76,000 Indians traveling to Jordan. This is a good number, and they are competing with the French, the British, and the Italians. Looking at your population, we hope to double the numbers this year. And hopefully, in the coming few years, you will see a complete jump in the numbers.

In my meeting with Tourism & Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, there was a discussion on how to work together to increase the number of tourists. We are trying to revive the direct flights between Amman and New Delhi, which stopped a few years back.

Incentives for low-cost carriers from India — on the lines of those offered to airlines that bring tourists from the West, Europe and the United States, Canada, and Australia — are being considered.

Is there also a discussion on a mutual simplification of visas?

It’s already simple. Any Indian can just apply online and they can get their visas online straight-forward. And the same applies to the Jordanians.

What are the other important markets for Jordan?

We are exploring new markets. I started in Africa two months ago and now I am in India, followed by China. The Russian market is very important for us. As we speak, we are trying to resume our direct flights between Amman and Moscow.

Jordanians are extremely kind to foreigners and even refugees. Historically, we have received refugees since the start of the crisis in the region and there’s still there. As much as 30% of the Jordanian population today are refugees.

What are the other areas of cooperation with India that you’re looking at?

We can also cooperate in several fields, including archaeology. The Archaeological Survey of India has been operating for the past 160 years. Our Department of Antiquities too has been operating for the past hundred years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke proudly about retrieving the objects of archaeology from other countries with this diplomatic efforts.

Some of our objects are displayed in various parts of the world. One of them is displayed in the Louvre of Paris, and we gave it to the French under an agreement. The oldest piece of archaeology under their roof is our piece, the Ayn Ghazal statue. — the oldest human statue found on this planet.

Does Jordan face similar problems of antiquities being trafficked?

It’s an international problem. Two things are important to consider here — the national law to protect antiquities. We enacted the first law back in 1976. We told our citizens that we will not go after you if you register your pieces but have them on our national register so that we control the assets. Secondly, globally, you cannot claim anything taken before 1970 due to the UN convention. Is it fair? I don’t think so.