It took Jordan a while, and perhaps the global economic recession, coupled with the emergence of an affluent Indian middle class, to look seriously at the Indian market. The Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) opened its office in India only in 2009 to explore the Indian market and found that visa restrictions –  visa on arrival being available only to groups of five or more – was a dampener. So that obstacle was removed, says the JTB MD, Nayef H. Al-Fayez.

“But let me add, it is not easy for Jordanians to get Indian visas either”, he says. Jordanians seek Indian visas mainly for tourism and “honeymoon couples are also interested in visiting your country”, he smiles. The marketing efforts in India have helped and the number of Indian arrivals has gone up from 30,000 in 2009 to 74,000 in 2010 and, this year till July, there has been a healthy growth of 38 per cent from the Indian market.  The average length of stay of Indian visitors – both tourists and business visitors – is 2.8 days, but this can be increased as “we have so much of history, culture and, of course, the Dead Sea , to offer”, says Al-Fayez.

    He is such an affable gentleman that very soon the conversation steers from tourism to a host of issues. As all six of the visiting Indian journalists are women, gender issues and food top the chart. I ask him about religious tolerance and hijab (head-covering) and he says people are absolutely free to practice their religion. This Islamic country has some of the holiest Christian sites – we visited the site on Jordan River where Christ was baptised; a partial dip in the cool water was an experience to cherish – and great Biblical importance. About 10 per cent of the population is Christian.     

“As for hijab , you have to differentiate between women who wear hijab for traditional and cultural reasons and those who wear it for religious reasons. But the important thing is that it is not forced upon them; women are free to choose whether they want to wear it or not,” he adds.

India connect

It is heartening to note that as elsewhere in the Islamic world, in Jordan too, there is both respect and affection for India . Wherever we go, we are welcomed warmly on being told we are from India. In the course of the dialogue and comparison of lifestyles, I say something about India being a “poor country” and Al-Fayez says in astonishment: “ India , a poor country? Surely, yours is not a poor country”. Well, it's a poor country with lots of rich people, is my response. But what is more important is how the perception of India is changing in the world.

Anwar Atalia, Director of Marketing, Royal Jordanian, too speaks with great respect for India .  “Jordan has always had excellent relations with India, and we people admire India for its ancient civilisation and culture, and of course Bollywood!” Both he and Al-Fayez are great fans of Amitabh Bachchan and Sashi Kapoor. Apparently, interest in Indian films faded after the 1980s as Jordan turned to Hollywood movies but now Shah Rukh Khan and Company are back with a bang! “Our satellite TV shows Indian movies all the time; the women are beautiful, but I can't remember their names as they don't last as long as the men”, says Al-Fayez and I tell him nobody can last as long as Amitabh Bachchan. My colleague Amy Fernandes adds: “He is getting better with age… like fine wine!”

Hollywood classics such as Lawrence of Arabia , Indiana Jones and other films, including Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker , which is about Iraq, but was shot in Jordan as some of the terrain is similar, were shot here. The JTB is trying to get Bollywood interested in shooting films at some of Jodan's stunning locations and the Royal Films Commission has already approached some Indian directors to explore this possibility.

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