Growth of Tourisms Contribution to Jordans GDP Amidst Regional Challenges

Growth of Tourism's Contribution to Jordan's GDP Amidst Regional Challenges

Despite the ongoing regional turmoil impacting the Kingdom's tourism sector, a recent international report has predicted a positive outlook for the sector's contributions to Jordan's economy in the current year.

The "Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2015, Jordan" report anticipates that the direct contribution of travel and tourism to Jordan's GDP will increase by 4.7 percent in 2015. This would elevate the sector's contribution from approximately JD1.57 billion, which accounted for 6.2 percent of the total GDP in 2014. Such contributions reflect the internal spending related to travel and tourism, encompassing all expenses incurred by both residents and visitors for business and leisure purposes, along with government expenditures linked to tourism services. These services include cultural and recreational activities that cater to incoming travelers.

The report further forecasts a boost in direct employment within the tourism sector. In 2014, travel and tourism directly supported about 78,000 jobs, which represented 5.1 percent of total employment in Jordan. It is expected that this number will grow by 4.1 percent in 2015, leading to an estimated 120,000 jobs, or 6 percent of total employment by the year 2025.