A Petra win carries responsibility says Kawar

Now Petra is voted as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, we must act to live up to the standard of the new criteria says General Manager of the Amman-based Petra Travel and Tourism Company.

It must be our responsibility to plan well ahead and put forward policies to ensure there would be less impact on the historical site and that the long-term preservation of the Nabataean national treasure would continue, he adds.

Because of the new win at 22 million votes, mass tourism is expected to flow greatly from all over the world, but it has to be managed properly and to prevent it from spiraling out of control, organizations must push the government to improve its best practice management as Petra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The other five winners are Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, Machu Picchu of Peru, Chichén Itzá, Mexico, and Roman Colosseum in Italy and Taj Mahal in India).

Kawar, a long-time tour operator says, tourism is a double-edged sword, while it has its negative environmental impacts, at the same time it is the largest industry in the world, and supports environmental conservation, cultural heritage, poverty alleviation and community development.

The massive promotion for the seven winning cities goes beyond any means of any individual tourist authority's budget such as the JTB (Jordan Tourism Board) and others, he points out.

Investments in Petra is expected to flourish in all directions starting from hotel properties, to convention centers, shopping malls, aqua water parks, fun fairs, horse-riding clubs, and helicopter sight seeing trips. Those investments should complement existing hotel infrastructure and development.

While this is a good thing, nevertheless we must act prudently because other developments are inevitably in the offing says Kawar, who is also chairman of the Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association.

Other niche markets will start to evolve such as MICE tourism (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events) as well as leisure tourism. All new expected investments should stretch the seasonality in Petra and lengthen the average stay and result in higher room occupancy levels in hotels.

Because of this, local tour operators should adhere to the principles of responsible travel practices in respecting local cultures and traditions and minimizing waste due to the mass tourism that is expected to develop and see the doubling of numbers of tourists to Jordan, thus hiking up GDP percentages currently at 11 percent to as high as 15 percent as it is in Bahrain, Kawar concludes.