RIYADH: Jordan’s tourism sector reversed its declining revenue trajectory in the first eight months of 2025, posting a 7.5 percent increase as it pulled in $5.33 billion.
This was in contrast to the 3.7 percent drop seen in the same period of 2024.
Tourism income in August reached $932.2 million, up 2.6 percent from the same month of the previous year, which had seen a 0.3 percent decline, Jordan News Agency, or Petra, reported, citing preliminary data from the country’s central bank.
The growth was supported by a 14.9 percent increase in tourist arrivals.
These figures reflect Jordan’s momentum in tourism recovery, supported by improved international air connectivity, greater marketing efforts and infrastructure investment, in line with its National Tourism Strategy 2021-25 and Economic Modernization Vision.
“The data indicated growth in tourism revenue from Asian nationalities (38.4 percent), European (30.2 percent), American (18.6 percent), Arab (5.5 percent), and other nationalities (34.0 percent),” the Petra report stated.
It added: “Meanwhile, revenue from Jordanian expatriates dropped by 1.3 percent.”
Outbound tourism expenditure — money spent by Jordanians abroad — rose 4 percent in the first eight months to $1.44 billion. In August alone, spending increased 4.5 percent to $196.8 million.
Jordan maintained a steady upward trend in tourism performance earlier in 2025. In the first quarter, revenues rose about 8.9 percent year-on-year, with international arrivals up nearly 19 percent, supported by improved air connectivity, expanded marketing efforts, and infrastructure investments.
In the first half of 2025, tourism revenues increased 11.9 percent to $3.67 billion, despite regional headwinds and other external pressures.
January alone saw revenues surge 22.8 percent to $680.5 million, driven by higher spending from Jordanian expatriates, Arab visitors, and non-Arab international tourists.
Jordan’s performance mirrors a wider tourism surge across the Middle East.
A May release from the World Travel & Tourism Council showed the sector contributed $341.9 billion to regional gross domestic product and supported 7.3 million jobs in 2024, with projections rising to $367.3 billion and 7.7 million jobs in 2025.
Saudi Arabia led the region with a 148 percent jump in international tourism revenue in 2024, according to its Ministry of Tourism, while Oman, the UAE, and Qatar continued to draw strong visitor flows through investment, improved connectivity, and major events.
