The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities’ "Urdun Jannah” programme, which encourages domestic tourism, has attracted over 45,000 participants since the launch of its third season in June.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities together with Jordan Tourism Board (JTB), have introduced many new destinations to Jordanian governates during this season of the "Urdun Jannah” programme, according to a JTB statement sent to The Jordan Times.

"Aqaba, Petra and Wadi Rum are some of the most affected tourist attractions due to the ongoing pandemic,’’ according to the statement.

Petra, 235km south of Amman, which has been highly affected by pandemic, was included in most of the camping trips heading south of the Kingdom and that helped revive tourism and increase the number of visitors to the rose-red city, the statement added.

"This year’s programme has marked a great success. The numbers of participants are increasing rapidly,” Ahmad Azzam, the Tourism Ministry’s Spokesperson, told The Jordan Times.

Azzam noted that almost 10,000 participants join the programme every two weeks.

"There’s no closing date for the programme for now, it depends on the number of positive COVID-19 cases in the Kingdom,’’ Azzam added.

The programme’s committee runs regular evaluations of the trips’ schedule and adjusts the schedule based on the participants’ preferences, he said. The committee also follows up with each complaint to address challenges facing the programme, he added.

"A total of 266 complaints were received and handled during this season of the programme,” according to the statement.

Travel and tourism agencies, as well as aviation companies, have joined this year’s programme to alleviate their losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the statement said.

The programme offeres free transportation and provides each participant with a meal during the trip, according to the statement.

A total of 1,646 buses were used to transport tour participants from governorates, accompanied by 1646 tourist guides, the statement said.