Jordan Tourism Board targets South Asian markets

AMMAN — With the growing interest in Jordan as a religious tourism destination among South Asian countries, authorities are reaching out to this “promising” market, an official said on Wednesday.

There has been a “significant increase” in the number of tourists from South Asian countries, particularly Malaysia and Indonesia, over the last two years, said Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) Managing Director Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat.

In a bid to further promote Jordan to Muslim travellers and to build partnerships, some 85 Jordanian tour operators recently participated in a tourism exhibition in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, he told The Jordan Times. 

The JTB delivered a detailed presentation about Jordan, introducing the Kingdom’s tourism potential to Malaysian tour operators and media representatives, according to the board.

“In addition to visiting the numerous shrines and tombs of Prophet Mohammad’s companions, Malaysian and Indonesian tourists visit other touristic and archaeological sites,” Arabiyat said.   

Pilgrims who perform Hajj or the lesser pilgrimage of umra in Mecca often stop by Jordan for two to four days to visit the Kingdom’s shrines before they head to Jerusalem, he added.

According to JTB figures, a total of 12,657 tourists from Malaysia visited Jordan over the first nine months of this year.