In Petra, the capital of the Arab Nabataeans, and at the headquarters of the Petra Tourism Development Region Authority, the Board of Directors of the Tourism Promotion Authority, in the presence of the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Makram Al-Qaisi, and the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Authority, Dr. Fares Braizat, held a participatory coordination meeting in which the steps taken by the Authority were praised. From stopping and removing attacks on the archaeological site, referring violators to the judiciary, and establishing the law for everyone in order to preserve the site and the visitors, Jordanians and foreigners, and cleaning and maintenance work for the archaeological site and supporting the local community, because these steps are of great importance, not only from a tourism perspective, but also for the sustainability of the site and preserving it for future generations. .

Al-Braizat stressed the importance of coordination with the Tourism Promotion Authority, which represents the marketing arm of the Jordanian tourism product, and whose efforts resulted in the number of visitors to Petra reaching historic numbers in the year 2023. They

also discussed ways to market Petra as a sustainable, green tourism area, such as using electric cars to transport tourists and legalizing The commercial use of the archaeological area and the cleaning campaigns carried out by the authority, in addition to focusing on confronting the smear campaigns carried out by parties affected by the application of the law.

Dr. Al-Braizat explained the details of the violations, their numbers, the security plan that accompanied the removal of the attacks, the plan to sustain the current security situation, the development plans and support for the local community in the villages surrounding the archaeological site, and the transformation of tourist routes to suit the development plans, which will be in the interest of the local community, the main partner in developing and preserving the tourism product.

Al-Qaisi said that supporting the steps taken by the authority to stop attacks on the site and on Jordanian and foreign visitors was not to preserve Jordan’s reputation as a safe country for tourism, but rather to preserve Petra from being included on the World Heritage List in Danger, which we cannot allow because this list does not It only enters sites that are going through wars and catastrophic crises. Al-Qaisi also confirmed that the Ministry, the Tourism Promotion Authority, and the Department of Public Antiquities will provide all support to the Petra Regional Authority, including training and rehabilitation of the local community, promotion, marketing, and preservation of the archaeological site in a way that ensures its sustainability for future generations.

The audience listened to an explanation by the Secretary-General of the Ministry, Dr. Imad Hijazin, about the human development efforts undertaken by the Ministry through training courses for job seekers and sector employees to improve the level of service provided to Jordanian, Arab and foreign tourists alike.

Dr. Fadi Balawi, Director of the Department of Public Antiquities, gave a detailed explanation of the department’s efforts to preserve the archaeological site and take advantage of the tourism slowdown resulting from the crisis to work intensively to maintain and restore the site, which is difficult to do during periods of overcrowding.
Dr. Braizat accompanied Al-Qaisi and the accompanying delegation on a tour that included the archaeological site. Al-Qaisi was briefed on the details of the situation inside Petra after the attacks were removed and the security plans to ensure that they are not repeated. Al-Qaisi visited the sites that were vandalized and burned by saboteurs and violators.

This visit comes as a step called for by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Makram Al-Qaisi, to focus on partnership and integration with the Petra Regional Authority and all partners in the tourism sector since the beginning of the crisis, out of belief that the tourism sector is a resilient and resilient sector, but recovery requires the combined efforts of partners in this vital sector.