'Social tourism' campaign aims to immerse visitors in local community life

AMMAN — Responding to a severe drop in tourist arrivals to the Kingdom since the start of conflicts in the region, young Jordanians have launched a campaign to promote “social tourism” to potential visitors, the campaign's organisers said on Wednesday.

“#StepforJordan”, a campaign created by I-Dare, which is a social organisation for sustainable development, aims at connecting local communities in several areas of Jordan with tourists worldwide through an online platform, according to I-Dare Co-Founder and Director Iyad Jaber. 

The campaign was launched earlier this week on Zoomal, the Arab platform for crowdfunding, to raise money to implement the programme.

“Our target audience is young people and their supporters. We work on improving tourism on many levels," Jaber told The Jordan Times.

He added that the campaign has started mapping sites suitable for social tourism, which can offer visitors opportunities for volunteer work and cultural exchange, starting with villages in Ajloun and Salt.

Volunteers from the campaign met with families in rural areas who might be willing to host tourists for a day or two, introducing them to the concept and the needs of tourist groups, the director explained.

“Tourists will be hosted by families living in areas not often visited by foreigners, where they would be introduced to Jordanian culture by experiencing it for themselves through trying traditional dishes and the daily life of residents,” Jaber said.

The next step after mapping is the launch of an electronic platform for tourists with a particular interest in social tourism, he explained, adding that the platform will be in the form of a travel blog to share experiences and reviews.

“Not only would the local community gain knowledge, the campaign will also provide job opportunities and an income for young people,” Jaber added.

“This is important for our society, especially for women living in rural areas, since some of them don’t go out of their houses. The experience would be their window to the world to get to know other cultures from home.”

Families in Ajloun and Salt gave positive feedback when informed about the campaign, according to Jaber. “They are accepting new ideas and respecting other cultures more.”

“Social tourism also indirectly reduces the phenomenon of xenophobia,” he said.

The campaign director noted that the murder of Jordanian air force pilot Muath Kasasbeh by the Daesh terror group last year caused some people to fear instability in the country and cancel their trips, resulting in a major hit to tourism in the Kingdom.

“We aim to make clear that we do not live in a state of war, and to end fear of the ‘other’,” he said.

The campaign also plans to “contribute to a socioeconomic improvement” of the country through responsible tourism, said Sara Centellas Portet of I-Dare.

“We encourage social tourism to promote the tourism sector, yet with a social value, by engaging the local community — to give tourists awareness of the concerns of the locals,” she told The Jordan Times.

“Members of the campaign want to give more visibility to Jordan, especially in the social media and digital fields... to be different and more competitive in promoting Jordan.”

More information on how to contribute or volunteer are available on the campaign’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/idareorg1, and the Twitter handle @Idare0.