Petra in search of its missing tourists – L’Express

Loneliness suits him so well. In this fresh morning in February, only the echo resonates through the maze of Petra canyons, a wonder of the modern world which is the pride of Jordan. Usually, up to 10,000 tourists crowd each day to admire the capital of Nabatean civilization, built on the rock more than 2,800 years ago and including the 3,000 mausoleums tens of meters high are renowned.

These days, the site is deserted. Or almost. A few bunches of tourists wander under the sun: here a group of South Koreans, recognizable by their embroidered flag on the sleeves; There of the British whose faces flee the sun, covered with Jordanian Keffiehs with red and white damy. In these paths several kilometers long, surrounded by wavy cliffs, the visitor becomes a lonely adventurer, free to scrutinize the ancient vestiges of long minutes. “What a luxury, blows Nasseira, a Frenchwoman passionate about Petra, where she made a twelfth visit. Usually, you have to wander through hordes of visitors, in the hubbub of tourist guides … There, nobody. It is even more exceptional.” This calm does not do the business of Jordan.

Hotels filled with only “2 or 3 %”

Like the whole regional economy, Petra appears as a collateral victim of the wars that ignited the Middle East since October 7, 2023. The Westerners feared traveling in this stable but border country of Israel, the West Bank, Syria or even Iraq. Last year, the French were 60 % less numerous than in 2023 to visit the Hashemite Kingdom. “Every two or three years, we have a crisis in the region and we are undergoing the effects, breathes Essam Fakhriddin, president of the Jordanian restaurateurs association, on the front line against the tourist slump. The war in Gaza was a disaster for places that depend at 100 % of tourism, like Petra. The rate of filling of hotels stagnates there for eighteen months … collapsed. ” In the neighboring city, around thirty establishments under construction had to put their work on a break.

War in Iraq in 2003, Arab Spring, Syrian Civil War … When the Middle East is agitated, Petra sees its attendance fall. However, in calm weather, the site has experienced an explosion of visitors every year, since Indiana Jones revealed to the world its wonders by hitting the sîq throat on horseback in The last crusade, In 1989. Today, horses were replaced by electric carts and adventurer hats sellers at 15 Jordanian dinars (20 euros) keep their stock on their arms. “For us, Jordaniens, seeing our treasure of Petra as empty is a heartbreaker, is sorry Ahmed, a tourist guide on the threshold of the main canyon. Our country succeeds in staying away from the wars of our neighbors but we end up being victims despite everything.”

First affected by the crisis: the Bedouins of Petra. For centuries, these nomadic people have jealously kept secret the treasures of this ancient site, by prohibiting access to foreigners. It was not until 1812 that a Swiss traveler, intrigued by the myths around this legendary city, managed to introduce himself disguised in Arabic, before informing the Western world of his discovery. Since then, the rush to Petra has never stopped, attracting the most renowned archaeologists, nature lover and treasure researchers.

Bedouin tribes populated its caves until 1985, the year when the authorities built a hard village near the site in order to relocate them, both to facilitate visits but above all to allow UNESCO to classify the site as a world heritage. In exchange, the Bedouins keep the exclusivity of small shops in Petra. A blessed financial windfall, which sometimes turns into a curse.

Sharif has lived all his life here. The thick black pockets under his big green eyes tell his despair in a more eloquent way than his words. Its souvenir store, a few meters below the majestic royal tombs erected in the 1st century AD, is full of bottles of sand of the desert, drummer dromedaries and 1 dinar magnets. Before the war in Gaza, he said, his shop made 25 families of Bedouin tribes live. Today, Sharif only works with an employee, his wife. “For a year and a half, there has been no one left and we have not received any help, only additional taxes, complains about the thirty -something. The rare tourists are delighted to be there, but for us the situation becomes impossible.” As soon as a visitor enters his field of vision, he flies away with his keffiehs under his arm, ready to sell them off.

On the heights of the modern city of Petra, Yazan Mahadin drowns his worries on a large plate of Mansaf, the traditional Jordanian dish based on sheep (head included). Posting since last November, the director of the tourist park has kept calm and smile despite the attendance crisis. “I am an optimist!” Laughs this old architect, white jacket and little black goat under the chin. He prefers to highlight the “good” figures in January, with an 8 % increase in visitors compared to last year. “As soon as the ceasefire was announced in Gaza, the interest in Petra went up,” he opens, hoping for a 40 % leap for March.

Petra goalkeeper says he took advantage of this forced rest to think about the future of the tourist park. “Last year was terrible, but we worked hard to bounce back and enrich the experience of future visitors, underlines Mahadin. On average, tourists remain 1,2 day in Petra: our goal is to extend their visit to two days, or even three, and for that we must offer them more.”

Overcutching, a deadly danger for Petra

Already, he has launched night visits to the site, called “Petra by night”, and inaugurated 27 new trails in order to unclog the main tracks of the ancient city. From May, visitors will also be able to share the daily life of the Nabatéens thanks to virtual reality headsets made available. “Ultimately, we want to take measures similar to those in place in European museums which, from the Pandemic of COVID-19, make reservations compulsory for specific visit slots, says Yazan Mahadin. It will be essential to unclutter Petra.”

Because this loss of lull may well save the ancient site from a wave which, tide after tide, threatened to overwhelm it: surcourtism. On site, the guides tell with a touch of anxiety the spectacle of recent years, when the main canyons had metamorphosed into endless queues for tourists at the end of the nerves. “With each crisis come from opportunities, philosopher Essam Fakhriddin. Petra surcourism was very dangerous, even madness … This crowd must be regulated now.”

You have to take the road to Aqaba, a large city in southern Jordan and the only port of the country, to better understand. Here, more than 80,000 tourists arrived each year from cruise ships: they landed at dawn, went up in the bus to visit Petra in the morning then the Wadi Rum desert in the afternoon, before going on board in the evening. Jordan Express.

At the beginning of February, only a few pedalos vogue by the beach in the Gulf of Aqaba, a unique place in the world where four countries rub shoulders with a few kilometers from the coast: Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. “2023 had broken all the records, with 80 % of the cruises that came from Europe, underlines Hamza Hajhasan, deputy governor of the special economic zone of Aqaba, from his office with a view of the bay. For 2024, we had 78,000 tourist reservations and 40,000 crew members … Unfortunately all canceled, without exception.” In question: the attacks of the Houthist rebels in the Red Sea which, from Yemen, target Western ships.

Under the winter sweetness of Aqaba, in short-sleeved polo shirts, Hamza Hajhasan remains full of hope, even if the tourist season is lost: “Cruises in the Red Sea are from October to April, so we will not have anyone before fall. But if the ceasefire holds in Gaza, we have projects with a new Saudi company to welcome more people at the end of the year.” With surcourism and its profits as the only horizon.

Here too, the Trump danger

This optimism is found in the capital, Amman. Short hair, overflowing energy, the Minister of Tourism Lina Mazhar Annab manages this vital sector for Jordan (18 % of her GDP) since the September elections. “Because of the war in Gaza, many flights have been interrupted from Europe and France, but they gradually resume, including low cost, explains the ambitious minister. The situation has calmed down and clarified, we only expect the market to resume and peace prevail in Palestine.”

But, already, a shadow hangs over the fragile resumption of Jordanian tourism: that of Donald Trump. By threatening to expel 2 million Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan, the American president sowed doubt about the stability of these countries. What scare potential tourists. “There is no reason to be afraid, slice Lina Mazhar Annab. Otherwise, it should also be feared to go to Mexico, Greenland or Canada …” In this case, see Petra.