International troops based in Iraq will have the opportunity to vacation in Jordan during designated rest and recreation (R&R) breaks. The Kingdom could end up replacing Kuwait and Qatar - their current R&R destination -as the holiday destination for soldiers granted leave.
According to Mena Report sources, European and US troops will head for Jordanian cities such as Petra once the Baghdad-Amman route opens for traffic. With a price tag estimated at $100 a day per soldier, the guests will be spending either four, seven or fourteen-day breaks in Jordan's five star hotels and will be offered the highest levels of service.
Jordanian travel companies PetraMoon Tours, Trust Tours and Progress Travel have submitted offers to organize the soldiers’ visits. According to US > Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, some 150 soldiers a day are currently being flown to Qatar for breaks.
Jordan has been striving hard to shake off a slump in visitors, which followed the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada against Israeli rule two and a half years ago and was later compounded due to cancellations after the September 11 attacks and the war on Iraq.
Income from tourism accounts for 8.5 percent of Jordan’s gross domestic product (GDP) according to figures from the Jordanian Tourism Board, which puts the total number of tourists who visit the kingdom annually at 1.4 million. Tourism, which employs 100,000 people, is also Jordan’s second source of foreign income, after receipts from Jordanians working abroad. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
