Jordan News

Emad Abdel Karim

Jordan enjoys a comprehensive tourism environment that includes many types of tourism, including cultural, medical and religious tourism, summer tourism, sports tourism and winter tourism.

However, with the spread of social media and the development of communication technology, he recently found exploration tourism, which shows us beautiful natural areas that are absent from our eyes and lack the promotion of tourism stakeholders, so that singers and lovers of exploration adventures overlook us with pictures and videos documenting the most beautiful views.

The strange thing is that these clips and pictures that fascinate us in our provinces and countryside are discovered by visitors and expatriates from Arab countries who documented these pictures and used social media to gain millions of views.

Why do we miss discovering these beautiful and picturesque sites and sceneries, and where is the role of the concerned authorities that are supposed to convey the image of Jordan and the beautiful sites in it to all Arab and international tourism platforms and sites.

The Gulf Arabs are promoting Jordan in a professional and convincing way to other communities

For his part, founder of the Jordan Initiative through the eyes of its photographers (a special initiative to promote tourist places) Munther Al-Zoghoul believes that we have in Jordan many promotional initiatives that contribute to Jordan’s tourism promotion, but they do not receive any government support or guidance, and they are personal visits carried out by a group of activists and Jordan lovers.

In statements to “Jordan News”, Al-Zogoul added that what distinguishes the promotion carried out by visitors to Jordan and its guests from Arab countries, especially visitors from the Arab Gulf countries, is that they use social media in a more interactive way.

And he indicated that the Saudi, Qatari, Emirati and others when he publishes a video about Jordan and depicts tourist sites and places in it is more viewer and has more persuasion than a Jordanian citizen, noting that the viewer considers this clip to come from a neutral party and publishes his experience during his visit to Jordan and thus be There is a great follow-up and interaction on these clips and photos, especially if the tourist site is attractive and has stunning views.

He pointed out that Arab tourists use social media in a professional manner, have a strong viewership through social media, and have large followings.

Personal initiatives without government sponsorship or interest

Al-Zogoul said that the Jordan initiative, in the eyes of its photographers, provided visits to many tourist sites in Jordan, as we visited all regions of the Kingdom with the presence and participation of media professionals and activists on social media, and beautiful pictures and clips were taken of tourist areas in Jordan.

He pointed out that the tourist tours implemented by the initiative included an exhibition of tourism products and an exploration of beautiful and aesthetic sites within the reach of all Jordanian families.

And he indicated that it was promoted through Facebook pages and social media, noting that it is done with personal efforts and without any cooperation from government agencies, but rather by a number of voluntary initiative youth.

Jordan’s lack of digital platforms for tourism promotion

For his part, the Dean of the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality at the University of Jordan, Aqaba Branch, Dr. Ibrahim Bazazo, believes that Jordan suffers from a lack of interactive digital platforms that can promote Jordan as tourism, at the level of Arab countries and the world.

In an interview with “Jordan News”, Bazazo stressed the weakness of digital content related to the film industry in Jordan, due to the failure to produce short films that talk about tourist sites in Jordan.

He pointed out that the Jordanian citizen has not reached the stage of placing Jordan and its tourist areas on the world tourism map, despite what it possesses of the ingredients that make it one of the best countries in the world in terms of tourism in terms of the Jordanian environment and the diversity of the vital terrain that can be promoted.

Digital marketing and away from traditional marketing

Bazazo said that there must be joint work and networking between the concerned authorities in the tourism sector, telecommunications institutions and the Royal Film Commission to work on increasing the horizons of cooperation to market Jordan in the Arab and international manner as required.

Bazzo criticized the traditional means of promotion and demanded the necessity of moving away from the old classic means of marketing and moving towards the new digital marketing that is currently sweeping the world.