Increased arrival numbers from India have encouraged Jordan Tourism to spread their net further and tap the tier II markets in India. From January to September 2013, Jordan has witnessed 35,217 Indian arrivals. “The country has witnessed a positive growth in the past and we shall follow the same upward trend going forward. The depreciation of the Indian rupee has generated a negative impact on the travel industry. In Jordan particularly, the movement of Indian arrivals has been on an even kneel. However, as the Indian currency is maintaining its value, the arrivals are also impressive,” said Ashit Taneja, Country Manager – Jordan Tourism Board, India Office.
Taneja revealed that, as part of their 2014 strategy, Jordan Tourism will lay more emphasis on educating the trade in tier II cities. “Jordan Online Specialist Program has been tailor-made for the travel trade in India. The main idea was to increase the travel trade’s knowledge, capability, and sales of Jordan as a destination. After successful completion of the programme, the Jordan Specialist accreditation will be awarded to individuals who have successfully completed the programme and they will be encouraged to utilise the programme in a way that they become experts on the destination with the most up to date knowledge of Jordan. So far we have received a tremendous response to the online specialist programme. We are in the process of tabulating the final number of participants, but a number of companies have filled out the forms and a large number of travel agents have completed the programme,” he stated.
He further added that the advertising plan for next year is a mix of consumer and trade promotions, with activities that will also focus on educating the consumer and creating brand recall.
Commenting on the success of their Visa on Arrival facility extended to Indian groups travelling to Jordan, Taneja opined that it has proved to be a great tool to get Incentive groups on board. He revealed that several groups have materialised and there are many in the pipeline as well.
