Petra, January 21 (Petra) Prime Minister Jafar Hassan on Wednesday opened the newly renovated Crowne Plaza Petra Hotel, which had been closed since 2012, and inspected tourist sites in the Petra district as part of his regular field visits.

The reopening of the hotel follows an accelerated renovation and development process carried out over the past three months, after the Prime Minister’s initial visit to Petra.

During an inspection visit in October, Hassan had directed that renovation work be expedited to ensure the hotel became operational at the beginning of 2026.

Established in 1980 and owned by the Social Security Investment Fund, the Crowne Plaza Petra Hotel adds to the district's tourism facilities. The hotel includes 143 units 62 hotel rooms and 81 chalets and a conference hall with a capacity of 300.

The project provides nearly 200 job opportunities, with priority given to local communities.

During his tour, Hassan visited the Cultural Village, which was established in 2023 on a 65-dunum site and offers employment opportunities for local residents. He reviewed existing tourism and heritage programmes and discussed with stakeholders ways to develop them.

He directed that greater emphasis be placed on local tourism and heritage products and their marketing at the Cultural Village and other tourist attractions, particularly traditional handicrafts produced by members of the local community.

He called for activating and improving the quality of programmes and activities to enrich the visitor experience in Petra, highlight its cultural and civilisational heritage and maximise benefits for local residents.

The Prime Minister visited the Hyatt Zaman Hotel and Resort, established in 1994 and renovated in 2022. The facility, which is owned by the local community, currently records an occupancy rate of 75%.

Hassan commended the project as a successful model of investment partnership with the local community, providing nearly 100 job opportunities, enriching the tourism experience and showcasing Petra's historical and cultural heritage.

During the visit to the Petra district, the Prime Minister directed that comprehensive maintenance work be carried out at the Petra Sports Stadium and that it be reopened as soon as possible to serve sports and youth activities.

Hassan was accompanied on the tour by Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Imad Hijazin, Chair of the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority Fares Breizat and Ma'an Governor Khaled Hajjaj.

Breizat noted that Petra has recorded a significant increase in visitor numbers in January, rising by nearly 70% compared with 2023 and 64% compared with 2024.

He pointed to a recent influx of tourists from new Arab markets, including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Syria and Libya, particularly following the resumption of Royal Jordanian Airlines flights to these destinations.

Breizat added that hotel occupancy rates increased from 7% in 2024 to 30% by the end of 2025, while the number of visitors to Petra more than doubled from 115,000 in the last quarter of 2024 to 210,000 during the same period in 2025.

//Petra// AK

21/01/2026 20:43:08