Building Economic Sustainability through Tourism Project FINAL REPORT 2015-2020 Contract No. AID-278-C-15-00010 Cover photo Sabah displays a tray of pastries made at her home in Jerash by a group of visitors she hosted for an agritourism experience. Credit : Nicolas Awad, USAID BEST DISCLAIMER The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States government. Building Economic Sustainability through Tourism Project FINAL REPORT 2015-2020 Table of Contents 4 ACRONYMS 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 10 KEY ACHIEVEMENTS 15 IMPLEMENTATION PROBLEMS, CORRECTIVE ACTIONS, AND DELAY COSTS 17 LESSONS LEARNED AND BEST PRACTICES 19 JORDAN’S TOURISM BUSINESS ENABLING ENVIRONMENT TO SUPPORT COMPETITIVENESS IMPROVED 20 ENHANCED GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND ADMINISTRATION FOR GREATER COMPETITIVENESS 22 PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OPTIMIZE RESOURCES AND POLICES 24 STRONGER INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS TO ACHIEVE TOURISM GROWTH 25 PUBLIC-PRIVATE COLLABORATION ON REFORM AND INVESTMENT 25 STRONGER TOURISM SECTOR ASSOCIATIONS AND CHAMBERS 27 TOURISM INVESTMENT BOOSTED THROUGH THE PROMOTION OF INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND INCENTIVE PROGRAMS 31 TOURISM ASSETS DEVELOPED 32 TOURISM RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS CAPABILITY ESTABLISHED 34 TOURISM COMPETITIVENESS INDEX DEVELOPED 34 EXISTING TOURISM EXPERIENCES IMPROVED 42 DEVELOPMENT OF NEW AND EXPANSION OF NASCENT TOURISM ASSETS AND PRODUCTS SUPPORTED 48 PLACE-CENTERED TRIP CIRCUITS AND TOUR ROUTES DEVELOPED AND EXPANDED 50 GRADUATES PREPARED FOR TOURISM CAREERS AND JOBS THROUGH BETTER TOURISM EDUCATION 52 CONCESSIONS ESTABLISHED TO PROTECT JORDAN’S ASSETS 55 AJLOUN VISITOR CENTER RESTAURANT ENHANCED 55 SMES LINKED TO LARGER FIRMS 57 SOURCE MARKETS DEVELOPED 58 JORDAN’S TOURISM MARKETING AND SALES MORE EFFECTIVE 61 MARKETING TO ATTRACT TOURISTS FROM KEY SOURCE MARKETS ENHANCED 66 JORDAN’S STRATEGIC NICHE SEGMENTS IN SOURCE MARKETS STRENGTHENED 69 JORDAN’S TRAVEL AGENT AND TOUR OPERATORS’ NETWORKS EXPANDED AND CULTIVATED 71 TRADE’S SALES EFFORTS TO GROW DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS AND INCREASE SALES SUPPORTED 72 OTHER ACTIVITIES 74 INCREASED ACCESS TO FINANCE 75 ACCESS TO FINANCE FOR SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED TOURISM ENTERPRISES INCREASED 76 SME CAPACITY TO ATTRACT LENDERS AND INVESTORS IMPROVED 79 SUCCESS STORIES 98 ANNEX 4 ACRONYMS Building Economic Sustainability through Tourism Project 5 AAUC Ammon Applied University College ASEZA Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority BEST USAID Building Economic Sustainability through Tourism Project DATA Destination Academy with TripAdvisor DMO Destination Marketing Organization EDP Enterprise Development Program IHG InterContinental Hotel Group JCB Jordan Convention Bureau JETT Jordan Express Tourist Transportation JIC Jordan Investment Commission JITOA Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association JOHUD Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development JRA Jordan Restaurants Association JTA Jordan Trail Association JTB Jordan Tourism Board JTBNA Jordan Tourism Board North America KAA King Abdullah II Award for Excellence M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MICE Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events PAP Petra Archaeological Park PDTRA Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority RACA Royal Academy of Culinary Arts RSCN Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature SDC As-Salt Development Corporation SME Small- and Medium-sized Enterprise SOP Standard Operating Procedure TCI Jordan Tourism Competitiveness Index TedQual Tourism Education Quality TSA Tourism Satellite Accounts UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNWTO United National World Tourism Organization FINAL REPORT 2015-2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 8 Building Economic Sustainability through Tourism Project 2015 to 2020 Assisted the development of Jordan’s tourism sector in partnership with goverment, private sector and communities 4,748 $116,218,829 tourism jobs created leveraged investment in tourism Facilitated loans for 47 businesses, which created tourism investments totaling $25.5 million 17 52 new tourism products laws, policies, regulations, and developed strategies introduced or updated 2014 2015 2017 2018 Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities performance ranking increased under the King Abdullah II Award for Excellence Building Economic Sustainability through Tourism Project 9 58 19 new trip circuits or agritourism experiences established routes developed creating income for 200 people from farming and rural communities 45% of Jordan’s 4* and 5* hotels adopted Pathways to Professionalism More than 1,100 hotel employees trained 415 26 people working for 91 service new or enhanced tourism experiences providers along the Jordan Trail 62 jobs created by developing As-Salt into a Distinctive Destination FINAL REPORT 2015-2020 10 KEY ACHIEVEMENTS Between the last quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2020, the USAID Building Economic Sustainability through Tourism Project (BEST) worked closely with government, communities, civil society, and the private sector to develop Jordan’s tourism sector. BEST achieved this by increasing and diversifying products and services, increasing investment in the sector, raising service standards and quality of education, and boosting marketing efforts. Through its various activities and grant support, BEST created 4,748 tourism jobs and leveraged private sector investments of more than JOD 116 million in tourism. By the end of the project, visitors to Jordan, tourism receipts, and the number of people employed directly in the sector increased. BEST’s combined interventions contributed to the development of a sound foundation in marketing, business quality and services, human capital capacity, and investment promotion within Jordan’s tourism sector. Although it is difficult to determine what proportion of increase can be attributed to the actions guided by the strategy, it had a significant impact through the introduction of low-cost carriers and wide-reaching digital marketing campaigns that targeted key niche markets. The period between 2016 to 2019 saw a 12 percent increase in visitors to Jordan, a 41 percent increase in tourism receipts, and a 6 percent increase in people employed in the sector. Unfortunately, with the start of the coronavirus crisis at the start of 2020, Jordan’s tourism sector came to a halt, as did that of the rest of the world. This has unraveled the five years of dedicated USAID BEST efforts to boost tourism’s contribution to Jordan’s economy. However, tourism is a resilient sector, and it will offer great potential to revive local economies once the crisis subsides. Setting aside the global crisis at the start of 2020, the main achievements of USAID BEST per area of work, and the lessons learned, are as follows. ATTRACTING TOURISM INVESTMENT AND INCREASING ACCESS TO FINANCE ENABLING ENVIRONMENT BEST worked with the Jordan Investment Commission In recent years, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (JIC) to increase awareness of tourism investment has struggled to operate efficiently, ranking poorly in a incentives, which were previously unknown to investors 2014-2015 national assessment of public institutions in across Jordan, through awareness campaigns and Jordan under the King Abdullah II Award for Excellence investment roadshows in governorates around Jordan. (KAA), the highest level of recognition of quality BEST helped promote the commission’s tourism aiming at improving the quality of national services. investment map and instilled the needed capacity within Since 2016, BEST has been supporting the ministry to the commission to better encourage and facilitate build its capacity for planning and operations and instil investments in tourism. This helped increase investment core values of a more efficient and effective ministry. in tourism, especially in governorates other than As a result of BEST support, the ministry improved its Amman, which resulted in improved tourism products overall score by 23 percent, moving up 46 places over and experiences and job creation. As a result of the 2014 to 2015 rankings, and the ministry’s secretary campaigns and roadshows, 94 businesses with a total general received the KAA for secretary generals of investment value of more than $465 million accessed government institutions. the tourism incentives. Seventy percent of these businesses are outside Amman. BEST linked its investment promotion efforts with its work to increase access to finance for tourism small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). BEST established partnerships with six local banks, which created a range of tourism-specific lending products in response to the needs of small and medium tourism businesses around the country. The banks created these lending products to boost domestic private sector investment in tourism that would spur investment in governorates outside Amman, resulting in better tourism products and experiences and creating jobs. The participating banks promoted these loan products, along with available loan Building Economic Sustainability through Tourism Project 11 BookAgri CEO Rudaina Haddad takes part in a pastry-making activity with guests at Mrs. Esraa Al Zu’bi’s farm in As-Salt. t: Ahmad Qaisieh, USAID BEST Ahmad Qaisieh, t: Photo Credi DEVELOPING ASSETS AND EXPERIENCES guarantee programs, through investment roadshows BEST worked closely with the As-Salt Development and campaigns. BEST also provided technical assistance Corporation (SDC), Greater As-Salt Municipality, and training to tourism investors to help them access