TOURISM: JORDAN TABLE 1
Tourism Arrivals (2005 to 2009)* Tourists (‘000)
2005 2.987 2009 3.789
Day trips (‘000) 2.831 3.396
*Source: Jordan Tourism Board TABLE 2
Source of Tourism Arrivals in Jordan (2009/2010)* Syria
Saudi Arabia Egypt
Palestine Israel Iraq
Six Senses is one of the fi rst international operators in Jordan
Investment in spas is high on the agenda for the 2011 to 2015 strategy... 12 defi ned leisure and wellness trails and packages are a new key feature
arrivals increasing by 22 per cent (see Table 1). Although 2009 saw a decline in numbers due to the economic recession and emerg- ing political tensions, tourism performance stabilised in 2010 when it welcomed over 7.1 million tourists, contributing jod2.2bn (us$3.1bn, €2.2bn, £1.9bn) to the economy and directly supporting more than 40,100 jobs. T ese receipts surpassed targets – set in the 2004 to 2010 Tourism Strategy for Jordan – of 7 million tourists and jod2bn (us$2.8bn, €1.9bn, £1.8bn) and were reached nine months ahead of schedule. In addition, data from the Jordan Tourism Board also reveals an upturn in tourism receipts in the fi rst quarter of 2011, putting the country on track to also achieve its targets for this year. So, where are the tourists coming from
and for what? According to the 2011 Global Spa Summit report, Wellness Tourism and Medical Tourism: Where Do Spas Fit?, Jor- dan is one of the world’s leading countries for medical tourism and has been actively promoting this sector since the early 1970s. Today, an estimated 300,000 medical tour- ists visit the country using the 60 or so private hospitals approved by the Jordan Healthcare Accreditation Council. Meanwhile, although Jordan is accessible
to large European markets, it is its direct accessibility to, and appeal for, near neigh- bouring markets which is refl ected in the pattern and composition of international arrivals – 65.5 per cent of all tourism comes from such markets (see Table 2).
A WELLNESS FOCUS
Despite strong investment in tourism projects in Jordan, coupled with stable vis- itor fi gures, existing hotel spas could be performing better in terms of utilisation and revenues. According to the Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ (PwC) Dead Sea Spa Benchmark- ing Survey in Jordan last year (see sb10/3 p30) there is “a lack of affl uent local popula- tion in the immediate area surrounding the Dead Sea”, thus placing a high dependence on tourism markets. Notably, less than 10 per cent of treatments were booked by non-hotel residents which makes hotel spas vulnerable to the vagaries of holiday demand. Figures for the same PwC survey in January to Feb- ruary 2011, highlighted that the same resorts are continuing to fi nd their feet with Rev- PATH and utilisation of facilities. It’s also worth noting that low utilisation
in spas could be compounded by a depend- ency on a tourism market which is strongly based on neighbouring countries. T e popu- lar spa traditions and rituals of these source markets aren’t necessarily off ered in the westernised spas in Jordan, therefore these visitors avoid using them. Attracting more visitors from countries
such as America and the UK could be part of the solution. And, interestingly, there are early signs of growth in UK tourists to Jor- dan – in March 2011, fi gures were up 6.1 per cent on 2010. Numbers were given an imme- diate boost with easyJet commencing fl ights from London Gatwick to Amman, and there
76 Read Spa Business online
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Lebanon USA
Turkey UK
Other
29 per cent 17 per cent 6 per cent
4.8 per cent 3.2 per cent 3.1 per cent 2.4 per cent 2.4 per cent 2.2 per cent 1.3 per cent 28.6 per cent
*Source: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
are strong expectations of exceeding the year’s 20,000 target. Another solution could be to build more
‘local spas’ to target day spa members. T is is something which was picked up in the 2011 to 2015 Tourism Strategy which highlights the need to develop and secure the bene- fi ts of tourism in other parts of the country
– especially in the north – with an increasing emphasis on creating “local experiences using local products and local people” – key factors in the development of wellness tourism. Investment in wellness and spas cer-
tainly continues to be high on the agenda for the 2011 to 2015 strategy. T e develop- ment of 12 defi ned trails and packages – see
www.visitjordan.com – are a key feature of this new approach. Included in this is a series of three, fi ve and eight-day packages focused on leisure and wellness with specifi ed itineraries covering wellness attractions and accommo- dation in areas such as Aqaba, Amman, the Dead Sea and Ma’in hot springs. Overall, the Jordan Tourist Board is opti-
mistic about the future growth of tourism in the country. T is positivity is shared by the UN World Tourism Organization and the World Travel and Tourism Council – the lat- ter predicting that tourism’s contribution to GDP will increase to 20 per cent or jod6.1m (us$8.6m, €6.1m, £5.3m) by 2019. Clearly, domestic and foreign investors
are also planning ahead with a high degree of assuredness about the growth of tourism in the country. ●
SPA BUSINESS 3 2011 ©Cybertrek 2011 65.5 per cent
All (‘000) 5.827 7.085
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