Zarqa, Sept. 6 (Petra) — Tourism and environmental experts have
welcomed the government’s plans to link tourism sites in eastern
Jordan through organized tourist routes, aimed at creating a tourism
and development zone that would generate employment opportunities for
the local economy and promote various forms of modern tourism.

Their remarks followed Prime Minister Jafar Hassan’s visit on
Saturday to the Blessed Tree site in Safawi and several nature
reserves and archaeological and tourist sites in Zarqa Governorate,
where he reviewed plans to develop the sites in line with rapid
advances in the tourism, environmental, and broader economic sectors.

Khaled Al-Balawi, head of the New Azraq Municipality Committee, told
the Jordan News Agency (Petra) that the approach was important for
implementing the comprehensive development plan for the Azraq area.

The plan includes developing the archaeological site of Azraq Castle,
the development project in the town center, and environmental
reserves such as Shaumari Wildlife Reserve and Azraq Wetland Reserve,
in addition to archaeological desert castles along the international
highway, including Qasr Al-Kharana and Qasr Amra.

Al-Balawi said eastern Jordan enjoys special royal and government
attention that is strongly driving efforts to develop the region and
firmly place it on Jordan’s national tourism map as a major tourist
destination.

He said the Ministry of Local Administration, through the Azraq
Municipality and in cooperation with relevant authorities, was
working to accelerate the implementation of the important national
project by facilitating procedures and realizing the royal vision for
the area.

Azraq has significant development advantages due to its location on a
major international highway linking Jordan with the Gulf states and
Iraq, he said. The area’s selection as one of the world’s best
tourism villages by the United Nations Tourism Organization last
year, combined with the government’s plans to link tourist routes
across eastern Jordan, would make Azraq a major development hub, he
added.

Mohammad Wahib, a professor at the Queen Rania Faculty of Tourism and
Heritage at the Hashemite University, stressed the importance of
linking tourism, archaeological, and environmental sites in eastern
Jordan to revive ancient routes, including the Quraysh’s traditional
trade journeys.

He described the prime minister’s visit as a cornerstone for
launching genuine development in eastern Jordan, saying the region
possesses a globally significant civilizational heritage that can
attract visitors interested in heritage, environmental, and adventure
tourism.

Eastern Jordan, Wahib said, has a civilizational heritage deeply
rooted in human history, with numerous discoveries revealing ancient
civilizations that passed through the region. These assets should be
utilized to serve local development in Jordan, he added.

Osama Hassan, director of the Azraq Tourism Development Project at
the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN), said work
was underway to implement all components of the project according to
a timetable aimed at completing it by the end of February 2027.

The project includes developing and operating the tourism development
facility through the RSCN to serve as a hub for tourism activities
and routes in the Azraq area and link natural reserve sites.

Hassan said the project includes an ecotourism park and an
environmental garden featuring children’s playgrounds, walking paths,
and outdoor sports facilities.

Its environmental component includes rehabilitating the Northern
Azraq oases and creating water bodies that replicate the historic
Azraq oases, continuing the RSCN’s efforts to restore the Azraq oases
and the area’s natural wetland ecosystem.

Omar Al-Shoushan, president of the Jordan Environmental Union, said
the government’s approach to developing and reviving tourism and
environmental sites in eastern Jordan represented a strategic
opportunity to reposition Azraq and eastern Jordan as an integrated
tourist destination of global value rather than merely a collection
of separate tourist sites.

The initiative would also support the rehabilitation of ecosystems,
strengthen their resilience to climate change, protect natural and
cultural heritage, link these efforts to sustainable development, and
create genuine economic opportunities for local communities, he said.

Al-Shoushan said Jordan had an important opportunity to build on
Azraq’s exceptional global value. The selection of Northern Azraq
Village among the world’s best tourism villages for 2025 confirmed
that the area had assets capable of attracting international as well
as domestic tourism, he said.

This recognition should be invested in and promoted as part of an
integrated destination strategy, he added.

He said this should be accompanied by efforts to strengthen Azraq
Wetland Reserve’s international standing and continue developing its
nomination file in support of its potential inscription on UNESCO’s
Natural World Heritage List.

The exceptional universal value of Qasr Amra, already inscribed on
the World Heritage List, should also be leveraged and linked with the
destination’s other tourism assets, he added.

//Petra// AF