����ֱ��

RIYADH: Jordan’s tourism sector reversed its declining revenue trajectory in the first eight months of 2025, posting a 7.5 percent increase as it pulled in $5.33 billion.

This was in contrast to the 3.7 percent drop seen in the same period of 2024.

Tourism income in August reached $932.2 million, up 2.6 percent from the same month of the previous year, which had seen a 0.3 percent decline, Jordan News Agency, or Petra, reported, citing preliminary data from the country’s central bank.

The growth was supported by a 14.9 percent increase in tourist arrivals. 

These figures reflect Jordan’s momentum in tourism recovery, supported by improved international air connectivity, greater marketing efforts and infrastructure investment, in line with its National Tourism Strategy 2021-25 and Economic Modernization Vision. 

“The data indicated growth in tourism revenue from Asian nationalities (38.4 percent), European (30.2 percent), American (18.6 percent), Arab (5.5 percent), and other nationalities (34.0 percent),” the Petra report stated. 

It added: “Meanwhile, revenue from Jordanian expatriates dropped by 1.3 percent.” 

Outbound tourism expenditure — money spent by Jordanians abroad — rose 4 percent in the first eight months to $1.44 billion. In August alone, spending increased 4.5 percent to $196.8 million. 

Jordan maintained a steady upward trend in tourism performance earlier in 2025. In the first quarter, revenues rose about 8.9 percent year-on-year, with international arrivals up nearly 19 percent, supported by improved air connectivity, expanded marketing efforts, and infrastructure investments. 

In the first half of 2025, tourism revenues increased 11.9 percent to $3.67 billion, despite regional headwinds and other external pressures. 

January alone saw revenues surge 22.8 percent to $680.5 million, driven by higher spending from Jordanian expatriates, Arab visitors, and non-Arab international tourists. 

Jordan’s performance mirrors a wider tourism surge across the Middle East. 

A May release from the World Travel & Tourism Council showed the sector contributed $341.9 billion to regional gross domestic product and supported 7.3 million jobs in 2024, with projections rising to $367.3 billion and 7.7 million jobs in 2025. 

����ֱ�� led the region with a 148 percent jump in international tourism revenue in 2024, according to its Ministry of Tourism, while Oman, the UAE, and Qatar continued to draw strong visitor flows through investment, improved connectivity, and major events. 

RIYADH: ����ֱ��’s point-of-sale transactions held above the $3 billion mark for a 12th straight week, supported by resilient consumer demand for food and beverages, official data showed. 

The Saudi Central Bank, known as SAMA, reported that POS spending totaled SR13.10 billion ($3.49 billion) in the week ending Sept. 13, with the number of transactions at 231.05 million. 

While this represents a 12.3 percent weekly drop in spending, and a 4.7 percent fall in transactions, the headline figures do underscore consumer confidence and the Kingdom’s ongoing digital transformation of payments, supported by initiatives under Vision 2030. 

This marks a key milestone in ����ֱ��’s cashless economy ambitions under the Financial Sector Development Program. 

Food and beverages remained the top category, accounting for SR1.96 billion in sales despite a 13.1 percent decline. Restaurants and cafes registered SR1.57 billion, down 6.1 percent, while gas stations fell 5.6 percent to SR1.02 billion. Transportation transactions dropped 8.1 percent to SR966.76 million. 

The sharpest drop was in the education sector, where POS value stood at SR285.12 million, marking a weekly decline of 57.6 percent. 

Spending on professional and business services reached SR912.58 million, while apparel, clothing, and accessories totaled SR902.67 million. 

The healthcare sector recorded a weekly decline of 5.8 percent to SR876.34 million. 

Geographically, ����ֱ��’s capital Riyadh dominated POS transactions, with a value of SR4.65 billion and 75.95 million operations. Compared with the previous week, however, spending in the capital fell 10 percent. 

In Jeddah, POS transactions amounted to SR1.84 billion, down 12.4 percent, while Dammam recorded SR663.98 million. Makkah and Madinah registered SR506.11 million and SR496.20 million, respectively. 

Al-Khobar posted SR376.90 million, while Buraidah and Abha stood at SR318.46 million and SR167.80 million, respectively. 

The latest SAMA data indicates that consumer confidence in the Kingdom remains firm despite global economic headwinds, lending crucial support to ����ֱ��’s broader economic transformation agenda. 

In April, the central bank reported that non-cash retail transactions in ����ֱ�� reached 12.6 billion in 2024, up from 10.8 billion in 2023, highlighting the continued expansion of electronic payment systems across the Kingdom.