His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday stressed the importance of providing quality services and facilities for Arab and foreign tourists visiting Jordan as well as the need to enhance amenities at border crossings.

During a meeting to discuss the national tourism plan for the summer, King Abdullah directed the concerned tourism entities to pay special attention to visitor services to ensure the success of the season.

Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, who was present at the meeting, pointed out that the government has held several meetings with sector representatives to discuss measures to boost tourism.

Arab visitors will be charged the same entrance fees to tourist sites as Jordanians, the premier said, adding that the government has halved the sales tax on tourist services from 16 per cent to 8 per cent in order to ensure the competitiveness of this sector.

In 2010, tourism revenues amounted to JD2.4 billion, representing around 14 per cent of the gross domestic product, according to Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, who also attended the meeting.