THE ANCIENT CITY OF PETRA IS EXPECTED TO BRING MORE TOURISTS TO JORDAN

Daniel A. Tanner - Jul 24, 2007
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Jordan is a popular tourism destination as it boasts of numerous ancient places as well as cultural and religious sites. Local scenic beauties are also worth admiring. In fact, the tourism industry has contributed some 10 per cent to the country"s Gross National Product in 2006. The country has lots to offer. The Dad Sea is a popular destination and there is of course the worldwide known ancient city of Petra. This is the city carved in stone that everyone knows from the movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”. Petra was once the capital of Nabateans – Arabs, now it is a UNESCO world heritage site and also the venue for the Nobel laureates annual gathering. Recently, Petra has been chosen as one of the new seven wonders of the World.  "The inclusion of Petra in the list of the new seven wonders of the world gives an indication that more tourists are going to visit Jordan and the city," said Faruq Hadidi, the secretary-general of Jordan"s tourism ministry. The secretary has also mentioned that around 400,000 people visit Petra each year and that they expect the number of visitors to double. The fact is that the ancient city witnessed a 15 per cent increase in visitors in the first five months of the current year -- from 194,346 tourists to 223,084 and the publicity it has gained as one of the new wonders is expected to boost the growth even more.

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