PETRA, Jordan, 6 December 2003 — The ancient Jordanian town of Petra, situated halfway between the Dead and the Red Sea, is the nation’s most popular tourist destination but the wars and conflicts in neighboring countries are taking their toll.
On a normal day up to 3,000 visitors once traversed the narrow path between the two cliffs leading to Petra. Kingdom authorities tried to reduce the number of people visiting the site with a hefty 26 euros entry ticket per person.
Today a ticket costs half that with only between 20 and 30 visitors coming per day. Students get a discount but that has also failed to bring more visitors.
The remnants of one of the most fascinating cities of ancient time were discovered 200 years ago. It features temples, sacrificial places, burial sites and a theatre hewn in rock. The first report from a European came from Swiss researcher Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.
Visitors from the Gulf still visit Jordan with Amman offering some respite from the heat at an altitude of 800 meters. But only a few of them take the trip to Petra.
Jordan is generally regarded as a safe country and extremist attacks on foreigners are not known. Most of all, Jordanians are regarded as helpful and friendly. A visitor should not be surprised if a complete stranger offers to pay the bus ticket or a restaurant owner insists on regarding an evening meal as an invitation. “But you are a guest to our country,” the reply comes. For three days travelers should be treated as guests, the Jordanian saying goes.
But Jordan is also firmly calculating with tourist income. The diving clubs in Aqaba along the Red Sea, Petra and the impressive desert landscape are still relatively unknown in Europe.
Dozens of new hotels and clubs have opened. The Royal Diving Club in Aqaba was privatized two years ago. By the end of the year it will offer a new diving center with beach bar, boutiques, swimming pools and accommodation. In about six years the Tala Bay resort with several luxury hotels, cinemas and yacht harbor are scheduled for completion.
Another tourism project, 200 kilometers north of Aqaba, has more modest targets. The mountain village of Dana lies 1,600 meters above altitude, and is reachable via the Kingdom Road and Desert Highway. It is inhabited by about 500 Bedouins. Environmentalists have recorded 25 rare animal species and more than 100 archeological sites.The project began about 10 years ago and was supported by wealthy women from Amman. It was difficult to persuade the local population about the advantages of gentle tourism, many seeing nature protection as a threat to their way of life. It was accepted only after they experienced real benefits.
