Tourist groups have avoided trips to Jordan since the last quarter of 2023, due to the country’s proximity to the Middle East conflict, with Israel waging a raging war on the Gaza Strip since October 7.
After inbound tourism to Jordan declined by 47.5% during the last quarter of 2023 on an annual basis, due to the Israeli war on Gaza, another decline occurred during the first half of 2024.
Continuous decline
The number of tourists to Jordan decreased by 7.9% in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2023.
The number of tourists reached 2.3 million tourists, compared to 2.5 million tourists in the corresponding period last year, as tourism grew in the first half of last year by 54.4% compared to the first half of 2022.
The decline in tourism during the first half of this year is due to the continued impact of the war on the Gaza Strip on the number of tourist groups coming to the Kingdom, especially European ones.
On Monday, the Central Bank of Jordan issued a report on the performance of tourism in the Kingdom during the first half of 2024, in which it said that tourism sector revenues declined by 4.9% to $3.3 billion, due to the effects of the war.
The tourism sector in the Kingdom was forecast to grow by at least 6% in the number of tourists and tourism revenues during the first half of 2024.
The Israeli war on Gaza, with American support, since October 7th, has left more than 127,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing amidst massive destruction and famine that has claimed the lives of dozens of children.
Israel continues this war, ignoring the UN Security Council resolutions to stop it immediately, and the International Court of Justice orders to end the invasion of the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, take measures to prevent acts of genocide, and improve the dire humanitarian situation in the Strip.
Economic contribution
The tourism share of the Kingdom’s GDP in 2023 amounted to about 15.6%, which shows the importance of the sector and its revenues to the Jordanian economy.
Since the outbreak of the war on the Gaza Strip, Jordan has been suffering from a decline in purchasing power amid fears that the war will expand to northern Israel with the Lebanese Hezbollah.
IMF statistics show that the conflict has negatively affected the Jordanian tourism sector and some neighboring countries such as Egypt, which has had negative consequences on economic growth estimates.
In press statements earlier this year, Minister of Tourism Makram Al-Qaisi pointed out that hotel reservations in Jordan had declined by 50% since the start of the war on Gaza.
He said that demand for tourist sites has declined by 40% since the beginning of the war, in addition to a decline in the percentage of tourist restaurant reservations between 60% and 70%.
Until the beginning of the war on Gaza, data from the Jordanian Hotel Association showed that the tourism sector directly employed 600,000 workers, including hotel workers and tour guides, in addition to the restaurant sector and others.
Cautious forecast
An International Monetary Fund mission to Jordan said last May that assuming the war in Gaza continues without a major escalation in the region, the kingdom will remain able to deal with shocks successfully.
The fund expected growth to moderate to reach 2.4% in 2024, with a recovery in 2025, driven by improved consumption capabilities and an improvement in the tourism sector.
“Uncertainty remains high with the ongoing war in Gaza and regional tensions. The continuation of the war and the disruption of trade routes in the Red Sea could affect the Jordanian economy, particularly in terms of morale, trade and tourism,” he added.
