Urban Tourism in Jordan: Challenges and Opportunities Case Study: Amman

Abstract

This paper examines the challenges and opportunities of urban tourism in Jordan with a case study from Amman the capital city of Jordan. Jordan has tourism of sites not tourism of cities and towns, but lately Jordan paid a good attention on this subject and began to rehabilitate many cities especially in the Jordanian capital Amman.   The definition of urban tourism has initially been discussed, particularly because the definitions of urban tourism range from the downright abstruse to the straightforward. From all the definitions it is concluded that urban areas are very important for this type of tourism because they are: Destinations in their own right, gateways for tourist entry, centres for accommodation, and ideal bases for excursions bringing the tourists along interesting cultural as well as natural itineraries. The discussion then evaluates the aspects of urban tourism through identifying trends, developments and challenges within the tourism sector in Jordan. The paper discussed also the key elements that can enhance the visitor-friendliness in urban areas. It also considers new sector opportunities and acknowledges the difficulties and challenges associated with the development of the city of Amman as a centre for urban tourism.  Bibliographic documentation and descriptive-analytic method were used as a methodology for this paper to improve and deepen the knowledge to understand thoroughly the concept of urban tourism. From the main results of this research is that the country has a number of attributes that will likely contribute to the continuing growth of its urban tourism sector, including an enormous array of cultural-heritage destinations, a well developed transportation infrastructure and a hospitality sector that can accommodate budget-minded tourists as well as the needs of the most discriminating affluent travelers. Finally, the paper indicates the suggestions that Amman require to become a true destination city in the region.