The Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) and the Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair have renewed their collaboration agreement until 2028.

Under this agreement, the carrier will add 4 new routes, bringing the total to 25 routes connecting Jordan with 12 European cities.

The signing ceremony was attended by HE Makram Queisi, the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities and Chairman of the Jordan Tourism Board; Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair, and Dr. Abdul Razzaq Arabiyat, Managing Director of JTB.

“This agreement reflects the importance of low-cost flights in attracting tourists to Jordan,” said Queisi during the signing ceremony, emphasizing that the Kingdom has experienced a positive shift in inbound tourism in recent years post-Covid.

“We are delighted to be adding routes with the international carrier Ryanair. This will significantly contribute to the increase in tourist numbers to the Kingdom over the next period,” he added.

Arabiyat indicated that low-cost flights have given new impetus to Jordanian tourism, enabling it to achieve a significant leap that has helped raise the number of tourists.

He expects the Kingdom to witness increasing numbers of overnight visitors, highlighting that this positive shift has been growing steadily and strongly since it began in 2018.

Arabiyat further emphasized that the anticipated rise in tourist numbers will play a significant role in distributing the gains from tourism development across all governorates and will aid in promoting tourism experiences throughout the Kingdom, leading to positive impacts on local communities by generating novel job opportunities.

He also added that Ryanair has a massive number of followers on its social media pages, which will help to increase awareness of Jordanian tourism through its strong marketing content.

In turn, the CEO of Ryanair expressed his happiness at renewing cooperation with Jordan, which began five years ago, which will result in an increase in the number of routes to the Kingdom.

He highlighted that the introduction of Ryanair's services in Jordan has yielded positive effects in terms of invigorating the dynamics of the tourism sector. This development has also succeeded in drawing in new tourist segments to Jordan, particularly from Eastern Europe.

According to Wilson, the renewal of the agreement will increase the number of routes to a total of 25, with over 100 flights per week.

He expects to see over 600,000 travelers from and to Jordan each year, resulting in a growth in flights to Jordan of up to 30 percent compared to 2022.

Wilson noted that there are three new routes that will be connecting Amman with Pisa, Italy; Brussels, Belgium; and Marseille, France. Additionally, a fourth route will connect the city of Aqaba to Madrid, Spain.

Ryanair launched its first flight to Jordan on March 27, 2018, and since then, a total of 715,660 passengers have arrived in Amman, through Queen Alia International Airport, as of July 31, 2023.

From the beginning of this year until July 31, 2023, a total of 135,255 passengers have arrived in Amman through Queen Alia International Airport.

Moreover, spanning from the commencement of flight operations to Jordan until March 31, 2023, a cumulative count of 99,512 passengers have entered Aqaba via the King Hussein International Airport.

Furthermore, since the beginning of the winter season on November 1, 2022, until March 31, 2023, a total of 30,261 passengers have arrived in Aqaba.

Ryanair is known for its strong presence on social media, with a significant following in the airline industry worldwide. Its Facebook page has 5 million likes, its Instagram page has 1.1 million followers, its Twitter account has 766,000 followers, its YouTube channel has 98,300 subscribers, and its LinkedIn has 634,000 followers.

With 54.6 million visitors per month, Ryanair’s social media pages play a crucial role in marketing and promoting Jordan.