Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
And 'ambitious' is an appropriate word. In a country of minimal resources - where wa-
ter is in critically short supply, arable land accounts for less than 5% of the landmass, and
unemployment is hovering around 13% - the disproportionate investment in Jordan's
coastal pleasure domes may appear somewhat reckless, especially given the precarious
nature of tourism in the Middle East. That said, with world class attractions and greater
stability than some neighbouring countries, Jordan has good reason to be optimistic about
its tourist potential.
The Arab Spring & Benign Dictatorship
In the spring of 2011, Jordanians joined fellow
protesters in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Syria in
demonstrations popularly dubbed as the 'Arab
Spring'. Comprised largely of young students,
and peaceful in their approach, Jordanian pro-
testers argued on the streets of Amman for
higher wages and a fuller embracing of demo-
cracy. At the time of writing, the demonstra-
tions had whittled down to a weekly gathering
of die-hards after Friday prayers. Most Jordanians, in contrast, had returned to the import-
ant task of making a living in difficult economic times.
Democratic reforms have long been in place in Jordan. In
November 1989 the first full parliamentary elections since
1967 were held, and women were allowed the vote. Four years
later most political parties were legalised and able to particip-
ate in parliamentary and municipal elections.
Despite these concessions, democracy in Jordan is still
something of an alien concept. Perceived as promoting the in-
terests of the individual over those of the community, it runs
against the grain of tribal traditions where respect for elders is
paramount. In common with other parts of the Middle East,
Jordan traditionally favours strong, centralised government un-
der an autocratic leader - what might be called 'benign dictat-
orship'.
Of course, benign dictatorship is only as good as the leader.
King Abdullah is widely regarded both at home and abroad as
both wise and diplomatic in his role - a modernising monarch in touch with the sensibilit-
Jordan is ranked 95th of 169 countries in the Hu-
man Development Index (Egypt 113th, Palestinian
Territories 114th, Israel 17th). Tourism is worth
11% of GDP and US$900 million annually. In
Jordan, 80% of people use mobile phones, com-
pared with 25% in Egypt.
Profiling King
Abdullah
Studied in USA; attended Sandhurst in
UK; succeeded father, King Hussein,
in 1999; keen pilot, scuba diver and
rally driver; enjoys Western food;
speaks better English than Arabic;
married to Queen Rania; has four chil-
dren
