Jordan gearing up to reopen kingdom to tourism
The government is hoping to reopen the country for medical tourism amidst growing fears of a second wave and skepticism about the health protocols that will be adopted.
The Jordanian government is gearing up to reopen the kingdom to foreign tourists, starting with the medical tourism sector, amid uncertainty over when the international airport will be open, health protocols regarding arriving tourists and countries whose citizens will be allowed to enter. Prime Minister Omar Razzaz announced July 5 that the kingdom’s airports will reopen by the end of the month for international flights but in a limited way for countries whose coronavirus situations are no more dangerous than that of Jordan.
On July 1, government Spokesperson and Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh told Arabic CNN the kingdom was in touch with the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) to declare Jordan a safe country for travel. The kingdom has seen a sharp decrease in local coronavirus infections in the first two weeks of July, with no more than 1,500 cases recorded since March and only 10 fatalities. On July 5, the government announced it had received the “Safe Travels” stamp from the WTTC in appreciation of the kingdom’s “successful” measures in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, Tourism Minister Majd Shweikeh was quoted as saying by The Jordan Times.
