Keith Sproule visits a Jordan Bike Enterprises site south of the Dead Sea. This Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy project provides bikes
to several communities in Jordan, and residents use the bikes for transportation to jobs and to establish guided tour businesses.
Jordan, the benefits of an organization
need to go into the right hands.
Valdez: Sustainability can be tailored to
different types of travel and people. You
don’t have to go the homestay route.
Someone who prefers luxury travel and
wants to stay in a resort can also make
a positive impact—even if you empower
only one person.
Sproule: The promise of tourism is still
alive and can be realized. During our
time in Jordan, all the players have been
involved: government representatives,
private sector, agencies, community
leaders, nonprofits and NGOs (non-
governmental organizations). We had a
tremendous diversity of international
operators and GMs and CEOs. Our ses-
sions helped Jordanians figure out how
to deliver what buyers want. And they
offer the Jordan Trail and The Meaningful
Travel Map of Jordan. They’re serious.
Meaningful Map
Tourism Cares with Jordan
delegates joined a Feb. 25 news
conference announcing the creation
of The Meaningful Travel Map of
Jordan, which promotes 12 social
enterprises that provide jobs to
locals and give tourists hands-on
cultural insight. To learn more, go to
bit.ly/2FmWYPI.
Stulbaum: You wouldn’t think there
are a lot of similarities between Petra
and New York City. But talking with
Suleiman (Dr. Suleiman Farajat, com-
missioner for the Petra Archaeological
Park and tourism affairs) about the
challenges he faces in building capacity
within the local community reminded
me of what I deal with in working with
the boroughs. Bringing more tourists—
and tourism business—into an existing
community or neighborhood becomes a
real balancing act. Whether it’s ancient
Jordan or big-city America, we’re alike
in so many ways.
Left: At Mosaic House near Madaba, Jordan, local residents (many of them with physical handicaps) are employed as craftspeople.
Center: NTA Chair Chris Babb at the Bani Hamida Women’s Weaving Project. Right: Delegates dined on local fare at the Beit Khayrat
Souf. The co-op near Jerash also creates jobs for women who grow, package and sell local products, such as jams, spices and oils.
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