This period starts with the signature of the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel on 26 October 1994 that ended around fifty years of war and hostility between the two countries. Consequently, Jordan started to use the lands restored from Israel for tourism and economic development. For example, excavations started in the Baptism Site in 1997 and in 1999 the Vatican Committee decided that the site of Jesus‟ Baptism is on the Jordanian side of the River Jordan (MOTA 2009). Consequently, thousands of pilgrims flocked to Jordan from all over the world and, since then, Jordan is positioned on the international tourism map as a religious destination (JTB 2010a).
The peace treaty resulted in positive advantages to the Jordanian tourism sector. First and foremost, it set and confirmed the eastern borders of Israel with Jordan, which enhanced Jordan‟s political stability and security for all Jordanians as well as safety for tourists visiting the country. Secondly, Jordan restored its occupied land of 380 square kilometres and its water share in the Jordan and Yarmouk Rivers, according to the Johnson Plan of 1955 (King Hussein website 2010). Thirdly, it enhanced the efficiency of air transport, where it became possible to fly from and to Amman using Israeli air space, which reduced the time and costs for the airline companies and passengers. The treaty enhanced the flow of tourists to Jordan following the treaty; Europeans increased by 17%, Americans by 46% and Israelis by 830% in 1995 (Kelly 1998; MOTA 2006) and the numbers increased further in subsequent years. The treaty enabled Jordan to find a partner to help solve the Dead Sea‟s problem of shrinking one meter a year due to loss of water supply and a high evaporation rate
(Harahsheh 2002)23
. The Dead Sea now is competing with other nature attractions of
the world for final list of the New Seven Wonders of Nature24. The project, when
finished, will save the ecosystem of the Dead Sea and fill the lake to its optimum level
23
The proposed solution was to dig a canal from the Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea to the Dead Sea using the natural slope (Read Sea is zero and the Dead Sea is -422m).
24
http://www.new7wonders.com/community/en/new7wonders/new7wonders_of_nature/dead_sea. [Accessed 12 April 2010].
of 1932 (-392 m). Furthermore, the tourism industry will then thrive because the Dead Sea is considered the world‟s largest natural spa due to its therapeutic qualities and other industries, such as the Jordanian and the Israeli potash projects, will benefit from this project. Additionally, it will satisfy the thirst of big cities, such as Amman, Jerusalem and Gaza, through a hydropower desalination station to be constructed using the waterfalls on the southern edge of the Dead Sea and electricity would be generated as well (Harahsheh 2002). The treaty helped Jordan to develop its infra- and super-structures to cope with the vast number of tourist arrivals to the country and expanded international and regional economic cooperation (Hazbun 2008). The peace treaty with Israel hoped to enhance and foster „economic integration‟ or partnership with the European Union and the United States (Hazbun 2008). This resulted in bilateral economic agreements with both the EU in 1997 (Jordanian Ministry of Industry 2010) and with the US in 2000 (Jordan Economic and Trade Bureau 2010). The agreement with the EU established a framework for political, economic, trade and investment, social, cultural and financial cooperation (European Commission 2009) whilst the Agreement with the US empowered Jordanian products to enter the US market without restraints, which enabled toll-free exports.
During this period, the Jordan Tourism Board was established in March 1998 as a sole body for marketing Jordan as a tourism destination in foreign markets (JTB 2010a). Interestingly, new types of tourism, such as religious, therapeutic, desert and MICE, were introduced, supporting the tourism product and competitiveness of Jordan as a tourism destination worldwide. More detail about the JTB and the tourism products are explained in the following sections of this chapter.
This period witnessed a monarch change in Jordan due to the sudden death of the late King Hussein on 7 February 1999 after 47 years in service (Ryan 2002). King Abdullah II accessed the throne of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on that date. King Abdullah II believes that the route to success for Jordan‟s economy is to pump more capital into the country following its safety and political stability, as well as to stimulate investment laws. Jordan received many wealthy investors mainly from the neighbouring Arab countries in the last 10 years. Fortunately, the majority of these investments went to the tourism and hospitality sectors mainly in Amman, the Dead Sea, Petra and Aqaba (Jordan Investment Board, JIB 2009). However, most tourism
activities (i.e. accommodations and other infrastructures) are concentrated in Amman, Petra, Aqaba and the Dead Sea; meanwhile, other important regions, such as Jerash, Ajloun and Um Qais, are ignored (Kelly 1998).
In summary, tourism in Jordan has been affected by regional and international political incidents and wars such as the attacks on New York in 2001 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Tourist arrivals fell by 37% from Europe and by 41% from the
American market following September 11th, where air transport stopped and tourist
bookings to Jordan were cancelled accordingly (MOTA 2002). The tourism sector restored its health after the peace treaty with Israel and the number of tourists doubled.