The Jordan Tourism Board, India office is currently in discussion with the head office for increasing the promotional budget for the Indian market. With the same, the Jordan Tourism Board plans to pep up the marketing initiatives for both the trade and consumer segments. Ashit Taneja, Country Manager, Jordan Tourism Board highlighted that 32,000 Indians visited Jordan between January to September 2015. The arrival figures from India till December 2015 are yet to be announced. In the current year, their promotion would revolve around Meetings, Incentives, Conferences/Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) and wedding segment, targeting a growth of 5-7% year on year, he stated.
He further commented, “We are currently negotiating funds for boosting the promotional activities on both the trade and consumer fronts, in the Indian market for this year. This is still under discussion. We hope to come with an aggressive marketing campaign this year. The major focus this year would be on MICE and wedding business targeting a growth of 5-7% over the previous year.” Close to 900 tour operators have completed the Jordan Specialist Training Program so far.
From India, the MICE travel has been increasing over the years. Honeymoon and wedding events from India have also witnessed growth, informed Taneja. “The venues and the meeting facilities at the Dead Sea are mostly preferred for MICE events along with day trips to Petra and Amman. On the other hand, leisure travellers look forward to Amman, Dead Sea, Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba. Among the unexplored segments, we are keen on promoting the adventure activities in Jordan such as mount climbing in Wadi Rum or around Petra, helicopter rides and hot air ballooning. We believe that the younger travellers are mostly into adventure activities. They club their leisure holiday with a soft adventure activity. Their average length of stay is over 3 days,” he confirmed.
The Indian market is very much promising and ranks as one of the top emerging source markets for Jordan Tourism Board. We are constantly tapping various platforms and mediums that will help drive traffic to Jordan, he added. Realising the potential, we have taken major measures such as Visa on Arrival (VoA) and Jordan Pass. Connectivity is no issue between India and Jordan as various air carriers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Oman Air fly from India to Jordan via their regional hub.
