By Khetam Malkawi

AMMAN - Jordan and Spain will work closer to encourage tourism between the two countries under an agreement signed on Wednesday.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by outgoing Minister of Tourism Maha Khatib and Spanish Secretary of State for Tourism Juan Mesquida to encourage cooperation between companies and organisations in the Spanish and Jordanian tourism industries.

During a signing ceremony yesterday, Mesquida noted that the cooperation agreement will boost exchange of expertise and aims to increase tourism flow between Spain and the Kingdom.

According to Mesquida, Jordan is becoming a major travel destination for Spanish tourists, who prefer to visit Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea and Amman.

In the first half of the year, 19,493 Spanish tourists visited the Kingdom, an 86.6 per cent increase compared to the first half of 2009. Approximately 29,258 Spaniards toured Jordan in all of 2009, compared to 39,762 in 2008.

Jordanians accounted for 60,000 of the 52 million tourists who visited Spain last year, according to Mesquida, who stressed that Spain is keen to attract more Jordanian tourists in the near future.

The Spanish official also expressed interest in arranging joint-package tours of sites in Jordan and Spain for nationals from distant countries such as India and China.

The five-year agreement aims at developing tourism relations between both countries as well as organising and promoting conferences, seminars fairs, festivals, exhibitions and cultural weeks.

Also under the MoU, both countries pledged to exchange expertise regarding sustainable development and technological innovation in the tourism industry.

The signing ceremony was attended by Spanish Ambassador in Amman Javier Sangro de Liniers.