Visitor numbers to ancient city of Petra slump during Gaza war

Drop of more than 60 per cent in tourists to Jordan's historic city

The ancient city of Petra is one of six Unesco world heritage sites in Jordan. EPA

Jordan has experienced a sharp drop in visitors to its ancient city of Petra and other sites since war broke out in Gaza almost two years ago.

Figures released by the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority show visitors dropping from almost 1.2 million in 2023 to fewer than 460,000 last year – a decrease of about 61 per cent.

"We feel the repercussions of the aggression on Gaza every day, especially for providers of tourism services," Abdul Razzaq Arabiyat, the director of the national tourism board, told TV channel Al Mamlaka.

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Mr Arabiyat said tourism from Europe and North America has hit a record low, dealing a devastating blow to the hotel industry and tour operators around Petra, in Jordan's south. According to figures from the Petra tourism authority carried by official media, 32 hotels have had to shut down and almost 700 people have lost their jobs.

Although Jordan does not share a border with Gaza, it is among many countries across the Middle East affected by the war between Israel and Hamas. The kingdom has worked with the UAE to fly food into Gaza and sought to use its diplomatic influence to bring about a ceasefire.

Petra, famous for its stunning temples hewn from rose-pink cliff faces, is a Unesco world heritage site. The Jordanian economy relies on revenues from the kingdom's tourism sector, which accounts for 14 per cent of gross domestic product.

Jordan's tourism board had hoped to keep numbers steady from a pre-war figure of 5.4 million visitors a year across the country. Mr Arabiyat told The National in May 2024 that "we need to at least maintain this number this year, and we hope it will not decrease".

Last August, it was revealed that Middle East plane tickets issued in a 10-day period during the height of summer were seven per cent down year on year, with Jordan and Lebanon suffering the biggest drops.