The country’s tourism sector is a fast growing industry and is expected to create more than 25,000 jobs over the next five years, sector representatives said on Monday.

Sector representatives made the remarks yesterday at the opening of the “National Conference on Innovation and Reform of Tourism and Hospitality Education”, organised by the USAID Jordan Tourism Development Project in partnership with the ministries of higher education and tourism.

In her address at the conference, Minister of Tourism Haifa Abu Ghazaleh noted that “growth in tourism contributes to local economies, provides business opportunities and creates jobs, from tour guides and bus drivers to restaurant and hotel staff”.

“Finding skilled Jordanians to work in the tourism and hospitality sector is one of our biggest challenges,” she said, pointing out that “today’s tourists expect high standards and quality service, and Jordan must provide this in order to be able to compete on a global level”.

Mustafa Odwan, secretary general of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, also stressed the need to develop curricula in universities and community colleges.
“The purpose of this conference is to reform tourism and hospitality programmes at Jordan’s universities and colleges in order to align the calibre and professionalism of graduates with the requirements and needs of the tourism sector,” he said.

Odwan added that higher education institutions have a responsibility to respond to the human resource needs of the rapidly expanding tourism sector, as this will benefit them, the students and the visitor experience, resulting in a more vibrant industry.

USAID Jordan acting Mission Director Dana Mansouri also highlighted the importance of bridging the gap between demand and supply.
“The closure of the gap between the demand for and supply of a skilled Jordanian workforce can be addressed through collaboration between the industry and the higher education sector,” she said.

During the one-day conference, the “Reforming Higher Education: Jordan Hospitality and Tourism” report was launched.
The report is designated to be a component of the Jordan Human Resources Development Plan 2010-14, and includes a critical review of higher education programmes in the country, suggested guidelines, best practices and benchmarks, designed to improve the competitiveness of the tourism industry, as well as reform measures to be undertaken by higher education institutions.
According to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of Tourism, 6.5 million tourists visited the Kingdom in 2010, while revenues generated by the sector stood at JD2.423 billion. Currently, the sector provides more than 40,000 direct jobs and 150,000 indirect jobs.