Amman: A Cabinet session held Wednesday, headed by Prime Minister Dr. Bishr Khasawneh, decided to approve the mandating reasons for the draft Tourism Law for the year 2023.
The draft law will then be sent to the Bureau of Legislation and Opinion to complete the procedures for issuing it, in accordance with the rules in force, while giving it the status of urgency.
The proposed amendments aim to enhance competitiveness of the Kingdom’s tourism sector and improve the business environment to increase the flow of investments into this industry.
In this regard, the licensing requirement imposed by Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities as a regulatory tool to practice tourism activities and professions is cancelled and replaced with a classification system.
Under the amendments, other regulatory tools will be used, primarily registration and authorization, to keep pace with developments in the tourism industry by offering and practicing tourist activities and carry out reservations online to facilitate launching
business.
Additionally, the draft aligns with with the general policy document on reforming the Kingdom’s sectoral business licensing system approved by the Council of Ministers and launch the best practices in regulating economic activities in the tourism sector.
The amendments also aim to develop “sustainable, responsible and inclusive” tourism available to all, increase numbers of tourists globally and locally and prepare tourist sites to suit rights of all groups, primarily the elderly, children, people with disabilities, and others.
Moreover, the amendments define tasks of the Ministry of Tourism, National Tourism Council and the Tourism Committee, and aim to form the Council and Committee to achieve partnership between the public and private sectors and empower women and youth.
The draft seeks to launch an umbrella to protect tourists by introducing a set of provisions that align with international codes and guidelines in this regard.
The bill seeks to address challenges facing the Kingdom’s touris
m sector and protect and preserve Jordan’s tourist sites by creating a fund/financial account for this purpose.
Source: Jordan News Agency
