AMMAN, Jordan, June 30 (UPI) -- Jordan plans to boost its tourism industry, hoping to draw 12 million visitors between now and 2010, officials said Wednesday.
Tourism Minister Alia Buran proposed the National Tourism Strategy, claiming that an increase in foreign visitors to Jordan over the next six years will create 51,000 new jobs and add $6.5 billion in receipts, reported Middle East Online.
Last year, Jordan attracted 1.6 million visitors, earning $800 million in revenue. Two million are expected to visit this year, said Buran.
Tourism in the kingdom has slowed considerably since 2000, when outside events such as the Palestinian intifada, terror attacks in the United States in September 2001, and last year's war in Iraq caused large numbers of visitors to cancel their trips.
Bolstering the number of tourist arrivals is important to a country in which tourism is the second source of foreign revenue.
Jordan's most famous sights include the Dead Sea, the Wadi Rum desert, and the Nabatean archaeological site of Petra.
