• Jordanians like to travel - 23% growth in spending abroad
• Dr. Alia Bouran, Minister of Tourism and ntiquity: Tourists with these cards are continuing to positively influence the local economy with welcome revenues for Jordan
• Foreign visitors spent USD 105 million in Jordan during the summer of 2005
• International Visa cardholders conducted 244,000 transactions at shops and stores during the summer
• American tourists were Jordan's highest Visa card spenders, with USD 26 million followed by Saudi tourists with USD 22million
/24-7PressRelease/ - AMMAN, JORDAN, October 22, 2005 - According to recent statistics from Visa International, the world's leading payment organisation, tourism in the Kingdom continues to provide a major contribution to Jordan's economy as travellers from around the world visited Jordan during the summer months of June - August. Foreign Visa cardholders spent over USD 105 million in Jordan during June, July and August of this year, up 25% compared to the previous year.
Tourists from 129 countries visited Jordan over the summer. American tourists were Jordan's highest summer spenders - conducting 95,000 Visa card transactions worth USD 26 million, a 23% increase on last year's American summer spending. Saudi tourists spent USD 22 million, with cardholders from UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and the UK following closely behind. The nation recording the smallest total expenditure was Macau, China of USD 13. Foreigners principally spent their money at hotels, jewelry stores, travel agents and restaurants.
"Tourism is a major growth industry for Jordan and we are pleased that more and more merchants have made the payment process easier for visitors by accepting Visa cards," said Mr. Said Shuqom, Visa International General Manager for the Levant. "Paying with cards not only allows merchants to increase revenues and profits, but also to improve security, reduce cash-handling costs, and increase customer satisfaction."
Today Visa cards are accepted by 13,000 Jordanian merchants. The growth in the acceptance network clearly underlines the development and progress that Jordanian members and the merchant community have made in ensuring that Visa is the best way to pay. Alongside the merchant acceptance network, there are now over 1 million Visa ATMs around the world, with 588 around the Kingdom. Through Visa's variety of services and facilities around the world, Visa International's cardholders can feel secure and self assured that no matter where they are in the world, Visa is accessible for their needs.
Jordanian travellers have also been taking advantage of their Visa cards when abroad, spending USD 32 million, an annual increase of 23%. The top five destinations for Jordanian Visa cardholders were the USA (USD 4 million), the UK (USD 3.6 million), Lebanon (USD 3.5 million), the UAE (USD 2.8 million) and Egypt (USD 2.2 million). The smallest expenditure made by a Jordanian Visa cardholder was USD 3 in Georgia.
Mr. Shuqom added, "The simplicity of paying with Visa cards and the ease of making impulse or everyday purchases makes a huge difference to international tourists. Instead of changing money or travellers cheques, tourists are simply using their Visa cards to pay for goods and services and as such are enjoying their holidays more. "
Dr. Alia Bouran, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities said, "These international foreign spending figures help to illustrate how Jordan's tourism industry is growing from strength to strength- and we expect this progressive trend to continue. With enhanced tourism infrastructure, payment cards are becoming more and more important for tourism in Jordan."
Dr. Alia Bouran continued, "This summer spending results tell us that these cardholders value the safety, convenience and widespread acceptance that traveling with cards offers them. Thanks to the increase number of merchant locations, foreign visitors have more shopping opportunities and more chances to use their payment cards in the way they are used to, making them feel closer to home. We are happy to see even greater growth in tourist spending following the excellent results seen last summer. Tourists with these cards are continuing to positively influence the local economy with welcome revenues for Jordan."
Note to Editors:
About Visa: Visa International is a service association owned by, and comprised of, 21,000 member banks. These banks have issued over a billion Visa cards worldwide on which US$3 trillion per year is spent across over 150 countries.
Visa's role is not to a make a profit but to provide payment solutions for its member banks, enabling them to issue cards and process merchants' Visa card transactions. The Visa products issued by the banks are safer, more convenient and more efficient than cash. Furthermore, they help to bring people into the banking system and to increase the funds available for commercial loans, the lifeblood of a growing economy.
For more information, visit http://www.corporate.visa.com.
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