AMMAN, JORDAN - At a ceremony yesterday hosted by the U.S. Agency for International Development's Acting Administrator Alonzo Fulgham and Her Excellency Ms. Maha Khatib, the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, USAID launched its new tourism initiative designed to support the tourism industry in Jordan and improve its competitiveness. Under the new initiative, USAID will provide support for three new projects over the next five years.

The projects, which together make up a total of $38.3 million, build on America's decade long support for Jordan's tourism sector and its successful partnership with the Jordanian government and local organizations and communities to strengthen tourism as priority growth sector in Jordan's economy. The three separate projects are:

• The Jordan Tourism Development Project II will be coordinated closely with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and other stakeholders to develop key tourism products and destinations in Jordan and strengthen the capacity of tourism institutions to lead and guide the sector.
• The Nature-Driven Rural Development in the Southern Region Project, which will link three of Jordan's tourist attractions - Petra, Dana and the newly protected area of Jebel Masuda - to form a world-class tourism complex.
• The project for Cultural and Environmental Tourism, in which USAID has linked the U.S. National Park Service to work with the Jordanian government and local communities to strengthen the capacity of cultural and environmental tourism sites to enhance the tourism experience while at the same time assuring that environmental, natural and cultural resources are protected.

The ceremony was also attended by His Excellency R. Stephen Beecroft, U.S Ambassador to Jordan, and USAID Jordan Mission Director Jay Knott, as well as other USAID and Jordanian government officials, in addition to members of the tourism sector and beneficiaries of the USAID projects.