Some 770,767 visitors of various nationalities made it to the red rose city of Petra in the first seven months of the year, according to Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) statistics. Since the start of the year, 652,795 foreign tourists, 25,526 people from Arab countries, 66,435 Jordanians and 20,011 others within the ‘Urdunna Jannah’ program, have visited the ancient city, the data showed. In July, the total number of visitors to the city during was 72,665, most of whom were of foreign nationalities, and the number soared by 24 percent, compared with the same period in 2019, which recorded the first million tourists. PDTRA President Suleiman Farajat told Petra in an interview that the authority, through partnerships with concerned official bodies, the private sector and local communities, aspires to sustain tourism and remove seasonality. He referred to several programs to diversify the tourism product and attract more visitors to Petra, adding that some of these projects and programs have been launched and others will commence soon. Farajat described this tourism year as the best in the history of Petra, expecting the millionth visitor in October. He pointed to the tethered balloon project, which was inaugurated in Petra to attract local and Arab tourists in addition to the opening of the cultural village in Al-Bayda region, which will herald the return of the Petra Pink Nights festival later this month.
Source: Jordan News Agency