Petra announces construction of new convention centre

AMMAN — As part of the efforts to attract more visitors through different types of tourism, and mitigate seasonality, Petra is set construct a new convention centre for hosting international and domestic conferences, an official said.

Acting chief commissioner of the Petra Development Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) Sulaiman Farajat, said that authorities are planning to establish a conference hall in Petra to diversify tourism.

Details of the project would be announced soon, Farajat told the Jordan Times on Thursday.

He added that tourism in Petra was facing challenges in attracting investments, due to legislation on buying land by non-Jordanians, which he charged does not “serve investment”.

Farajat also said that projects to build 3-4 stars hotels were underway. Other projects, such as the Petra Museum and a new downtown, are close to completion he said.

The “heritage village” near Little Petra is also expected to open in 2019, and consists of restaurants, souvenir shops and a 1,500-capacity theatre for festivals.

PDRTA is working on expanding what it offers tourists he added, saying that the PDRTA sought to enrich visitors’ experiences to the city and increase benefits for local communities.  

The commissioner added that the city expects to close out the year with a total of 820,000 visitors, and indicators for next year point towards an increase in this number. 

“Petra received its highest number of tourists in 2010, recording 975,000 visitors, followed by 2018 with 820,000 and 2011 which witnessed 817,000,” said the official.