Return of expats seen as important component of sector’s economy Jordan has seen a rapid and remarkable recovery in its tourism sector, a government minister has said. Tourism Minister Nayef Al-Fayez described the situation as reassuring, telling the Roya news outlet on Saturday that there had been more than 1.9 million visitors to Jordan from the start of 2022 until the end of June. He said the return of expatriates was an important component of the country’s tourism economy and that tourism revenue was calculated by the Central Bank. Al-Fayez said that while Jordan was not directly affected by the Ukraine crisis, the tourism sectors dealing with the Russian and Ukrainian markets were clearly impacted. He said the ministry had addressed sectoral challenges by creating a risk calculation program in response to the pandemic to sustain work and overcome current and future challenges with the participation of the private sector. The minister said the search for new markets was ongoing and that the Asian market was important but was still suffering from the pandemic. He highlighted the importance of the US market alongside the European one. Al-Fayez said the “Our Jordan is a Paradise” program had met its objectives, with 109 Jordanians benefiting from it in the first six months of 2022. The program was originally launched to promote domestic tourism in Jordan after the tourism sector was affected by the coronavirus crisis. He said the ministry intended to launch new tourism programs focusing on the industry’s development.