Recommend July 2010 - (Page 29)

“...Tourism to Jordan has remained unchanged even during the hard economic situation of recent days. We owe this to two important factors: confidence in our product and the wide diversity of this destination.” Nayef Al-Fayez, Managing Director, Jordan Tourism Board perish in battle here, leaving David free to put the make on Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife. Today, the airport is undergoing extensive renovation and will soon open to the prospect of being one of the most modern and efficient airports in the world. The Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) suggests a superb itinerary it calls Jordan: The Royal Tour to first arrivals who want to get a taste of the best the country offers. Following those guidelines, a traveler will begin at the Dead Sea, where a troika of luxury hotels line the shore and afford a panorama of Israel on the far side. Europe and the Western Hemisphere learned the intricate details about the magic that is Jordan as a destination. Jordan’s enormous appeal was driven home during the conference by Nayef Al-Fayez, managing director of JTB, who pointed out that his country’s wonders are but the tip of the proverbial iceberg, as Jordan boasts of more than 30,000 archaeological sites. “Tourism is an important part of our economy,” Al-Fayez said. “And tourism to Jordan has remained unchanged even during the hard economic situation of recent days. We owe this to two important factors: confidence in our product and the wide diversity of this destination.” He urged travel providers to focus on the “Jordanian experience and [learn] how to sell it.” dead sea This is an area that cries out for the label “Riviera,” the much-used word describing picturesque and appealing areas all over the world. Jordan’s Dead Sea hotels are excellent, efficient, plush and stylish. The favored is the Movenpick Hotel and Spa, Dead Sea, patterned after an ancient village and painted in earth tones that match the barrenness of its surroundings. With 346 luxury rooms; four restaurants dishing out Italian, Asian and American haute cuisine; a spa that’s a marvel and an efficient staff that seems to delight in pampering guests, the Movenpick is the place to stay in Jordan’s Dead Sea area. Its Zara Spa features 24 treatment suites with thermal rain showers. The spa’s large, outdoor heated massage pool has 3 percent saltwater from the Dead Sea, while its indoor pool contains almost 30 percent of the restorative waters. The infinity pool, surrounded by gardens, may have one of the most spectacular sunset views in the world. A signature element of the spa is treatments based on the black, mineral-rich Dead Sea mud, an element reputed to clean, purify and restore the skin to its natural state. The Movenpick has a series of promotions during summer and fall where rates generally fall between $700 per night dbl for a superior room, to about $2,500 for an executive suite. The rates include spa treatments and other amenities. Nearby, the Marriott Jordan Valley Dead Sea Resort and Spa and Holiday Inn Resort Dead Sea, all modern hotels that manage to blend nicely with the timeless terrain, offer comparable services and amenities for those who want to be pampered on the shores of what may be the world’s most historical body of water. Wedged between the hotels is the massive and modern King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Center, where every year the Jordan Tourism Board North America (JTBNA) holds a comprehensive, 3-day program for travel professionals who want to immerse themselves in courses and lectures on how to make Jordan a profitable destination. This year, more than 200 tour operators, suppliers and buyers from biblical sites One of the easiest angles to sell the destination is Biblical tourism, an esoteric but popular facet of the trade for which Jordan seems tailormade. Travelers wanting to walk along the paths where Biblical figures once trod can visit the reputed site of Jesus’ baptism, about 15 minutes away from the Dead Sea resorts. The spot is close to where the prophet Elijah is said to have ascended to heaven in a fiery chariot. A bit further removed is Mt. Nebo, the mountain Moses climbed to catch a glimpse of the Promised Land, a place he was forbidden to enter. The hotels offer guided tours to the sites. Part of JTB’s suggestion, of course, highlights Petra, perhaps Jordan’s most famous destination. Very little has been left unsaid or unwritten about it, as this breathtaking ancient site is to Jordan what Machu Picchu is to Peru; what Angkor Wat is to Cambodia. Petra is about three hours away from Amman and easily accessible by taxi (about $75). A Swiss traveler rediscovered the city in 1812 and it has been enticing gasps of astonishment since. The gasps were, and still are, merited. Petra is amazing, if one’s allowed to use that hackneyed word that infests today’s vernacular. Although guides will assure you that the AsSiq, Petra’s main avenue, is only “about a mile and a half” long, it’s more like four miles. That’s about an 8-mile roundtrip hike from the entrance and not a place to send clients with disabilities. The As-Siq unwinds along the foot of an incredibly high, narrow gorge of stunning natural majesty. Visitors feel claustrophobic and hemmed in by soaring rock formations rising almost 300 ft. There are archaeological features all around: bizarre carvings, terraces, water channels and even religious niches sculpted into the cliffs. The focal point of the old city is the Treasury. You come upon it after a very constricted path in the Siq when the astonishing facade of the building suddenly emerges. july 2010 29 ÍÍ

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend July 2010

Cover: Experiential Travel
Contents
Editor’s Notes/Agent Speak
Hotel Desk
Tour Talk
Louis Cruises'
Chile
Shamwari Game Reserve
Jordan
Scotland
Las Vegas
Rancho De Los Caballeros
Caribbean
Mexico
Calling Indiana Jones Types

Recommend July 2010