RIYADH: Jordan’s tourism revenue jumped 7 percent year on year over the first 11 months of 2025, reaching $7.2 billion, new figures showed.
Preliminary data from the Central Bank of Jordan indicated that the Middle Eastern country’s tourism revenue rose by 12.6 percent year on year in November, reaching $606.6 million, the Jordan News Agency, or Petra, reported.
This comes despite a modest decline from the record highs of 2023 caused by regional tensions, as Jordan’s tourism sector still exceeded its 2024 targets for visitor numbers and revenue under the Economic Modernization Vision.
It also reflects the sector’s long-term strategy, which prioritizes steady expansion, with EMV targets calling for annual growth of around 10 percent in tourism receipts alongside sustained increases in visitor numbers.
The newly released Petra statement said: “The Central Bank attributed the growth to a 14.7 percent rise in tourist arrivals.”
It added: “Revenue gains were led by visitors from Europe (36.1 percent), Asia (34.3 percent), the Americas (18.4 percent), Arab countries (3.6 percent), and other nationalities (33.4 percent). Conversely, tourism revenue from Jordanian expatriates recorded a slight decrease of 0.8 percent.”
The statement further showed that over the first 11 months of the year, expenditures on travel abroad increased by 5.5 percent, totaling $1.887 billion.
Spending on outbound tourism rose by 11.4 percent in November, reaching $146.1 million.
Tourism across the Gulf Cooperation Council contributed $247.1 billion to the region’s economy in 2024, marking a nearly 32 percent increase compared with 2019.
According to preliminary data released from the GCC Statistical Center in September, intra-GCC travel experienced a sharp rebound, rising 52 percent over the same period, with 19.3 million visitors traveling between member states.
Intra-regional tourism accounted for 26.7 percent of total GCC tourism, highlighting growing cultural integration and regional mobility.
Saudi Arabia continued to set the pace for regional tourism expansion. In 2024, the country welcomed a record 30 million international visitors, up 8 percent from 2023, generating SR284 billion ($75.7 billion) in tourism spending, an 11 percent increase year on year.
Total domestic and international tourists reached approximately 116 million, rising 6 percent over the previous year.
GCC-Stat projects that tourism’s contribution to the GCC’s gross domestic product could reach $371.2 billion, or 13.3 percent of GDP, by 2034.
Employment in the sector is also expected to expand, generating an estimated 1.3 million new jobs, with women representing an increasing share of the workforce.
