Sunday, a total of 220 passengers arrived in Aqaba’s King Hussein International Airport on the first tourist flight from Moscow, as part of an agreement to boost tourism in Jordan.

Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Nayef al-Fayez said that the arrival of Russian tourists contributes to the revival of tourism in the Kingdom.

Fayez indicated the Kingdom's keenness to welcome more tourist groups and stressed its readiness to receive them, especially since the Kingdom was able to gain control of the COVID-19 situation in Jordan.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Aqaba Airports Company (AAC) Ramzi Arafat said these trips are part of the Jordanian government’s efforts to resume international tourism after declaring Jordan’s golden triangle of tourism, which includes Aqaba, Petra and Wadi Rum, a pandemic-free zone.

Arafat said "Jordan has made great efforts to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on various sectors, most notably the heavily-hit tourism sector, which is one of the main contributors to the economy."

He noted that precautionary measures have been taken to ensure the return to normalcy and pre-pandemic tourism traffic.

The Director General of the Tourism Promotion Authority Abdul Razzaq Arabiyat said tourists will continue to arrive in Aqaba in light of the current COVID-19 situation, adding that the Russian aviation authorities removed Jordan from the list of countries that are considered risky in terms of the pandemic. 

Arabiyat stressed that the measures taken by the government and the incentives granted to planes coming to Aqaba aim to increase tourism.

Arabiyat said the Kingdom is expecting an increase in the number of planes carrying tourists from Russia in the coming period.

For his part, General Manager of Travco, the company receiving tourists in Jordan, Paolo Nocherino said "The arrival of tourists comes as a result of joint efforts made by the company and the Jordan Tourism Board."