AMMAN — Jordanian tourism stakeholders have highlighted the importance of capitalising on His Majesty King Abdullah’s visit to China to strengthen cooperation with one of the world’s largest source markets for international tourism.

 

As part of the visit, the King met with senior representatives of Chinese travel giant Trip.com Group in Shanghai and was briefed on the company’s programmes and operations.

 

During the meeting, the King expressed Jordan’s keenness to increase the number of Chinese visitors and strengthen cooperation in smart tourism marketing, according to a Royal Court statement.

 

Mahmoud Khasawneh, president of the Jordan Society of Tourism and Travel Agents, said the priority now is to build on the Royal visit by partnering with Trip.com to launch marketing campaigns aimed at increasing direct bookings and establishing regular visitor-arrival programmes.

 

Khasawneh also called for specially designed tourism packages covering several destinations, including Amman, Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea, Jerash and Aqaba, to encourage longer stays by Chinese visitors.

 

Ayman Omar, president of the Jordan Tour Guides Association (JTGA), said that the Royal visit represents a cornerstone in efforts to strengthen Jordan’s tourism sector, adding that greater engagement with the Chinese market would contribute to the sector’s diversity and sustainability.

 

The JTGA is preparing to launch specialised tour-guiding training courses for students who already speak Chinese, as well as Chinese-language courses, in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority and the Jordan Tourism Board.

 

According to TravelChinaGuide, Chinese travellers made 167.92 million outbound trips in 2025, marking a 19.5 per cent year-on-year increase.

 

The number of Chinese visitors to Jordan increased by 15.9 per cent during the first seven months of 2026, reaching 11,931, compared with 10,294 during the same period in 2025, according to figures from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

 

The figures, cited by Al Mamlaka, include both overnight tourists and same-day visitors.

 

Between January and July 2026, Jordan received 11,160 overnight Chinese visitors and 771 same-day visitors. During the same period in 2025, the Kingdom received 9,399 overnight visitors and 895 same-day visitors.

 

Overall, the number of Chinese visitors increased by 1,637 during the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period last year.