VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAM #1558/01 1431340
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221340Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2689
INFO RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 3662
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 3887
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 5034
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1196

UNCLAS AMMAN 001558 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA 
STATE PASS USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EIND EAID SOCI JO
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN TOURISM EXECUTIVES SHARE CONCERNS ABOUT INDUSTRY 
 
REF: 07 AMMAN 3159 
 
¶1. Summary: The World Economic Forum (WEF) in its second annual 
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Jordan 53rd out of 
130 rated countries, a drop from 46th in 2007.  During a conference 
sponsored by USAID, 200 tourism executives criticized the report's 
methodology and discussed the industry.  Participants generally 
agreed that transportation and labor force issues were the greatest 
constraints to improvement.  End Summary. 
 
The Ratings 
----------- 
 
¶2. The WEF's second annual Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 
(TTCR) ranked Jordan 53rd out of 130 rated countries, a drop from 
its 46 rank in 2007.  WEF Senior Economist Margareta Drezeniek 
largely attributed the drop to changes in the methodology and the 
addition of an "environmental sustainability" category in which 
Jordan scored poorly.  The report is based on hard data (i.e., 
number of Open Skies agreements, number of hotel rooms, number of 
conferences and exhibitions) and on an attitudinal survey of 
business executives at multinational corporations. 
 
¶3. Among 14 characteristics, Jordan ranked highest on the country's 
low HIV prevalence (1/13).  Jordan also scored well on "affinity for 
travel and tourism" (9/130), which is a measure of how welcoming the 
country is to foreigners; "safety and security" (15/130), based on 
its low crime rate and the reliability of the police force, and on 
"prioritization of travel and tourism" (16/130), based on government 
expenditure and prioritization.  Jordan received its lowest rankings 
on "availability of qualified labor" (94/130); "cultural resources" 
(91/130); "natural resources" (87/130); and "policy rules and 
regulations" (78/130). 
 
¶4. Drezeniek said that Jordan's scores and rankings were in-line 
with other Middle Eastern countries.  NOTE: Israel (35), Qatar (37), 
and Tunisia (39) were the highest ranked in the Middle East, while 
Libya (104) and Algeria (102) were the lowest ranked.  Some Middle 
Eastern countries were not included.  END NOTE.  She also pointed 
out that Jordan would have difficulty surpassing OECD countries in 
categories such as education, healthcare, and information technology 
infrastructure.  Drezeniek noted that across countries there is a 
very high correlation between one's score on the TTCR, and number of 
tourists and tourism revenue. 
 
Conference Participants Criticize Methodology 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. Approximately 200 tourism industry executives reviewed the report 
results at a USAID-sponsored workshop on May 17.  Participants had 
many criticisms about the methodology, which Drezeniek defended by 
pointing out that WEF needed to use data sources common to 130 
countries.  She said data came from the International Air Transport 
Association, the International Civil Aviation Organization, World 
Trade Organization, and World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). 
Criticism was heaviest in categories where Jordan ranked poorly and 
where participants disagreed with the rank.  For example, Jordan was 
ranked 124/130 on visa requirements, because it requires visas for 
visitors from all countries except Syria and Lebanon.  Participants, 
while acknowledging the visa requirement, argued that it was not 
burdensome, especially relative to the difficulty in obtaining U.S. 
and British visas.  Air France regional manager Michel Leboube told 
EconOff that his passengers have no troubles getting visas upon 
arrival at Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) and that flight 
occupancy rates from Europe are rising. 
 
¶6. Criticism was also vigorous for Jordan's low ranking on cultural 
and natural resources.  Participants argued that Jordan's tourism is 
based upon its archaeological heritage sites and its natural 
resources, such as Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea.  Drezeniek explained 
that the scoring is calculated using the number of UNESCO World 
Heritage cultural sites (Jordan has just three) and the number of 
natural sites (Jordan has none).  Minister of Tourism and 
Antiquities Maha Khatib said that getting sites named as World 
Heritage sites is complicated, and requires a great deal of site 
planning.  She noted that her office is currently focused on 
developing the Petra site, which is already one of Jordan's World 
Heritage sites (reftel). 
 
¶7. Wild Jordan/Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) 
Director Chris Johnson agreed that World Heritage designation was 
difficult, but he also argued that Jordan does not, in fact, 
sufficiently emphasize its natural resources.  He noted that Jordan 
has just 4% of its land protected and that most countries have at 
least 10%.  He also said that none of Jordan's parks meet 
international standards.  He said 60,000 people visited RSCN's 
protected areas in 2007, and RSCN expects the number to rise. 
Johnson did question the survey's data on the number of total known 
species in Jordan and offered to provide better data. 
 
Agreement That Tourism Transportation Needs Improvement 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶8. Many participants agreed that transportation was one of the 
sector's largest challenges.  President of the Jordanian Restaurant 
Association Zaid Goussous said that the ranking for Jordan was 
actually too high because domestic transportation is "very 
difficult."   An official from the Ministry of Transportation (MOT) 
responded that there was a difference between the "quality of 
transportation" and the "availability of public transportation."  He 
said that while Jordan does not have an efficient public 
transportation system, it does have good tourist bus service, 
efficient rental car services, and numerous taxis.  Several 
participants disagreed with the official's assessment that the 
transportation was adequate.  Najati Shakhshir, General Manager of 
Jordan's Hertz car rental franchise, said that Jordan has good 
private transportation, but he criticized the law forbidding private 
bus shuttle services to transport passengers from the airport to 
Amman, which he believed would be useful and lucrative. 
 
¶9. National carrier Royal Jordanian Airline President Samer Majali 
said that Jordan is pursuing Open Skies agreements with many 
countries to improve its air transportation accessibility.  He said 
that Jordan has agreements with the U.S., Europe, and much of the 
Arab world, but that some Gulf governments with government-supported 
carriers have been resistant.  Majali added that while the goal of 
Open Skies agreements is to bring air travel to the masses, aviation 
continues to be taxed in Jordan as a luxury with very high departure 
taxes.  He said there are large policy differences between the 
desire for Open Skies agreements and tax policy for aviation, 
especially relative to other modes of transportation. 
 
¶10. Participants also discussed other forms of transportation.  When 
asked about the possibility of rail in Jordan, the MOT official said 
that the Hejaz railway system is very old and not suitable for 
expansion, but that the government is hopeful that a Zarqa-Amman 
light rail system could be ready in two years.  While this light 
rail project was previously awarded and then cancelled, the official 
said new investors were involved.  Shadi Ramzi Al Majali, General 
Manager of Saraya Aqaba, a real estate developer, said that Jordan 
also needs to examine its passenger sea transport options. 
 
Workforce Needs Training Especially in English 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶11. A wide range of participants said that recruiting a 
well-trained, English-speaking workforce was their top concern.  A 
representative from the USAID-funded Jordan Tourism Development 
Project (JTDP) said that many ministries are working on this 
problem, and that eleven vocational centers are producing 1,200 
hospitality graduates per year but the industry needs 5,000 per 
year.  One official from Petra said that even vocational program 
graduates often lack needed skills.  He was particularly concerned 
about the poor English skills of students who have graduated from 
tour guide programs.  An official from the Ministry of Higher 
Education said that Jordan was trying to increase the number of 
universities offering hotel management but that universities 
struggle to recruit instructors.  Dr. Ziad Al-Saad, a dean at Al 
Hussein Bin Talal University, said that women in particular need to 
be encouraged to study hotel management.  He said his university, 
which has three tourism related disciplines, only has two female 
students studying hotel management. 
 
Governmental Role 
----------------- 
 
¶12. USAID's JTDP Chief of Party said that many government agencies 
will need to be involved in Jordan's efforts to improve the tourism 
sector and improve Jordan's ranking.  Secretary General of the 
Ministry of Tourism Farouk Al-Hadidi said that after Jordan's rank 
fell in 2008, he received several calls from Gulf investors looking 
for an explanation.  Minister Khatib said that the ministry and the 
private sector need to work together to create a regulatory 
environment without burdens; to identify focused government 
investments; to invest in human capital; and to better inform the 
public of the role of tourism in Jordan's economy.  She further 
suggested that participants form three committees matching WEF's 
structure to identify improvements.  Former Minister of Tourism 
Munir Nassar reminded the audience that tourism is a very 
competitive worldwide market, and he urged the audience and the 
government to focus on those areas where improvements can be made, 
particularly on the cost to start a business. 
 
¶13. Comment: Given the defensive tone of the meeting, participants 
were clearly disappointed with Jordan's ranking, and particularly 
the fall from 2007 to 2008.  The time spent discussing areas for 
improvement was dwarfed by the time spent criticizing the 
methodology.  However, Jordan's tourism sites provide uneven 
experiences.  Jordan has beautiful five-star hotels that sometimes 
fail to provide five-star service.  Jordan's top attraction Petra 
has an unappealing visitor center with little interpretation and few 
features, and Petra is difficult to visit without private 
transportation.  The handicraft shops at the new visitor center in 
Wadi Rum often take in less than $100 per week because of poor 
merchandising.  Many tourism sites which received U.S. and European 
aid for their development quickly show signs of wear due to a lack 
of sufficient maintenance.  USAID's efforts to develop Jordan's 
tourism workforce are indeed needed, but so are other investments in 
tourism infrastructure and particularly its maintenance if Jordan 
truly aims to increase its rank and expand its tourism sector. 
 
Visit Amman's Classified Website at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman 
 
HALE