About half a million foreign tourists made it to Madaba, the 2022 capital of Arab tourism, according to the city’s tourism director Wael Janineh.

Some 462,688 tourists visited various sites in Madaba Governorate last year, compared to about 119,000 in 2021, he told Petra in an interview, and owed the remarkable increase to the Ministry of Tourism’s efforts and activities after the declaration of Madaba, south of Amman, as the Arab tourism capital.

He pointed out that 462,688 visitors made it to Mount Nebo, 222,661 to Madaba Visitor Center, 307,856 to St George’s Church and Mosaic Map, 28,688 to Ma’in Spa, 9,824 to Machaerus (Mukawir) castle, 42,425 to the Dead Sea panorama and 12,100 to the Church of the Apostles and the Archaeological Park.

Janineh referred to 110 tourist facilities in Madaba, including 20 hotels with 566 rooms and 1,094 beds, 29 restaurants, 26 handicrafts workshops, 30 shops and 5 travel and tour offices with a total workforce of 766.

By petra.gov.jo