Amman, July 14, (Petra) – In a major bid to shield the tourism
industry from ongoing economic headwinds, the Social Security
Corporation (SSC) has approved an unprecedented financial relief
package for hospitality businesses and their auxiliary industries.

Under the new directive cleared by the SSC board of directors,
eligible tourism establishments can now restructure their outstanding
debts into installment plans carrying a heavily subsidized annual
interest rate of just 1 percent. To further ease the cash-flow
crunch, businesses can defer their initial installment payments all
the way until April 2027.

The sweeping rescue measures are the direct result of urgent
collaborative sessions between the SSC, the Minister of Tourism, and
regional officials, who have been scrambling to draft safety nets for
hard-hit businesses, particularly those operating in the severely
impacted Petra region. The intervention also follows extensive
consultations with key industry voices, including the Jordan Hotels
Association and the Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association, to
address mounting systemic pressures.

The SSC announced that primary tourism establishments looking to
leverage these emergency payment terms can begin submitting their
applications at any SSC branch starting next Monday. For supporting
businesses and closely linked auxiliary services, the process
requires an extra step: operators must first secure an official
certification verifying their industry ties from the Ministry of
Tourism, the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, or the Petra
Development and Tourism Region Authority, before filing their
installment applications with the SSC.

//Petra// AA