Aculturally rich land, Jordan is famous for its vivid landscapes. The key tourism destinations are – Petra, Amman, Aqaba, the Dead Sea and Wadi Rum. While Europe and the US still remain the main markets for Jordan, India is a big market from Asia. Indians are increasingly looking at Jordan as a premium destination for MICE, leisure, religious travel, honeymoon travel and family holidays.
Jordan Tourism Board is promoting the MICE segment by offering Visa on Arrival. It is only valid for a group of five people or more with confirmed return flights, confirmed hotel bookings and available cash of US$ 1000. Jordan offers modern infrastructure, resorts, convention centres, four- and five-star hotels in all its important landmarks and cities to encourage the meetings and incentives sector. “It is also a very family-friendly destination for a holiday and is also rated as one of the top romantic countries which makes it an exotic honeymoon destination,” says Ashit Taneja, country head, Jordan Tourism Board, India Office.
Contrasting attractions
Petra is Jordan’s most valuable treasure and greatest tourist attraction. It is a vast, unique city, carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2000 years ago, turning it into an important junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome. Entrance to the city is through the Siq, a narrow gorge, over one km in length, which is flanked on either side by soaring, 80 mtr high cliffs. Just walking through the Siq is an experience in itself. The colours and formations of the rocks are dazzling. As you reach the end of the Siq you will catch your first glimpse of Al-Khazneh (Treasury). A massive façade, 30 mtr wide and 43 mtr high, carved out of the sheer, dusky pink rock-face and dwarfing everything around it, this was carved in the early first century as the tomb of an important Nabataean king and represents the engineering genius of these ancient people.
Another UNESCO World Heritage Site is the Wadi Rum. Here, it is the weather and winds that have carved the imposing, towering skyscrapers, so elegantly described by TE Lawrence as “vast, echoing and God-like…” A maze of monolithic rockscapes rise up from the desert floor to heights of 1,750 mtr creating a natural challenge for serious mountaineers. Hikers can enjoy the tranquility of the boundless empty spaces and explore the canyons and water holes to discover 4000-year-old rock drawings and the many other spectacular treasures this vast wilderness holds in store.
The Jordan Rift Valley is a dramatic, beautiful landscape, which at the Dead Sea, is over 400 mtr below sea level. The lowest point on the face of the earth, this vast stretch of water receives a number of incoming rivers, including River Jordan. The Dead Sea is flanked by mountains to the east and the rolling hills of Jerusalem to the west, giving it an almost other-worldly beauty. Although sparsely populated and serenely quiet now, the area is believed to have been home to five Biblical cities: Sodom, Gomorrah, Adman, Zebouin and Zoar (Bela). One of the most spectacular natural and spiritual landscapes in the world, the Jordanian east coast of the Dead Sea has evolved into a major hub of both religious and health and wellness tourism in the region.
Aqaba is a fun place. It is a microcosm of all the good things Jordan has to offer, including a fascinating history, with some outstanding sites, excellent hotels and activities. Aqaba’s greatest asset is the Red Sea itself. Here you can experience some of the best snorkelling and diving in the world. You can swim with friendly sea turtles and dolphins as they dart amongst the schools of multi-coloured fish.
Amman, the capital of Jordan, is a fascinating city of contrasts – a unique blend of old and new, ideally situated on a hilly area between the desert and the fertile Jordan Valley. In the commercial heart of the city, ultra-modern buildings, hotels, smart restaurants, art galleries and boutiques rub shoulders comfortably with traditional coffee shops and tiny artisans’ workshops. Everywhere there is evidence of the city’s much older past. The people of Amman are multi-cultural, multi-denominational, well-educated and hospitable.
A new terminal at Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan’s capital, Amman was opened recently amidst great pomp and ceremony. The new 103,000-sq mtr terminal can handle 12 million passengers annually.
