The World Tourism Organization yesterday said tourism will increase in the Middle East between 2% and 6% because residents are choosing to travel within the region to save money and because of concerns over the H1N1 flu. In 2008, the Middle East had the highest tourism growth rate in the world at 11% compared to a 2% growth rate for the rest of the world.
According to the WTO report, the number of tourists visiting Jordan will probably not decline with at least half of the total 4.8 million Arab tourists planning to holiday there.
About 2 million tourists, mostly Arab, are expected to visit Lebanon. The International Travel and Tourism Council said that tourism in 2009 could provide up to 10.5 million jobs in the Middle East and North Africa. This would account for 10% of the total workforce.
