Jordan’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Makram Mustafa Kaysi, who was in New Delhi this week for a meeting of the World Heritage Committee where Jordan’s Umm el-Jimal city was inscribed on the World Heritage List, said tourism to Jordan had dropped significantly in the wake of the Israeli-Hamas conflict in West Asia.
In an interview with The Indian Express, Quaisi spoke about his plans to increase tourism from India, change the world’s perception of the region and how India and Jordan can learn from each other about archaeology and heritage conservation.
Has tourism to Jordan been significantly affected since the Israeli-Hamas conflict?
“Sadly, yes. Usually, 18% of our tourists come from Europe and the US. We’ve lost 70% of that. But what surprised me even more was the drop in tourist numbers from Asian countries.”
I don’t blame the West for seeing the Middle East as a unit, but I’m surprised it’s seen that way in India. Amman is different from other cities in the region. Amman was safe.
In 2023, 6.2 million tourists visited the country, but this declined after the Israeli invasion of Gaza in the fourth quarter of 2023. It recovered in 2024, but the situation has changed.
Currently, half of the country’s tourists come from Arab countries, making up the majority of tourists from Western countries.
How does India stand and what are the other key markets?
In 2023, 76,000 Indians visited Jordan. This is a good number and they are competing with the French, the British and the Italians. Looking at the population of Jordan, they want to double that number this year. And hopefully, in the next few years, that number will grow exponentially.
In my meeting with Minister of Tourism and Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, we discussed how we can work together to increase tourism numbers. We are trying to revive direct flights between Amman and New Delhi, which were stopped a few years ago.
Incentives for low-cost airlines from India similar to those offered to airlines carrying tourists from the West, Europe, the US, Canada and Australia are being considered.
Are there any discussions regarding the mutual simplification of visa procedures?
It is already easy, any Indian can apply online and get their visa online easily too, the same is true for Jordanians too.
What are other important markets for Jordan?
We are opening new markets. We started in Africa two months ago, now we are in India and China. The Russian market is very important for us. We are currently working on relaunching direct flights between Amman and Moscow.
Jordanians are very hospitable towards foreigners and towards refugees. Historically, we have welcomed and continue to welcome refugees since the beginning of crises in the region. Currently, 30% of Jordan’s population are refugees.
What other areas are you considering for collaboration with India?
We can also cooperate in several areas, including archaeology. The Archaeological Survey of India has been functioning for the last 160 years. Our Archaeology Department has also been functioning for the last 100 years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke proudly of the recovery of archaeological remains from other countries through such diplomatic efforts.
Some of our pieces are exhibited around the world, one of them is exhibited in the Louvre in Paris, which was donated to France by agreement, and the oldest archaeological piece under their roof is our piece, the Ain Ghazal statue, which is the oldest human figure ever found on this planet.
Does Jordan face similar problems such as antiquities trafficking?
This is an international issue. There are two important things to consider here. One is national laws to protect antiquities. We had our first law in 1976. We told our citizens, register your pieces, put them on a national register, manage your assets, and we won’t come after you. Secondly, globally, you can’t claim anything that was taken before 1970 because of a UN treaty. Is that fair? I don’t think it’s fair.
