By Ayman Alhunyti
Many years passed before “Anovia” recently emerged—the first specialized Jordanian cultural tourism magazine, published in both Arabic and English. It builds bridges between Jordan and the world and delivers distinctive media content that presents Jordan—its civilization, history, and tourist and archaeological sites—in their most beautiful and splendid form. This comes at a time when the media landscape has been almost devoid of such a product in a country described as a first-class tourism destination, as Jordan is home to more than 500 tourist and archaeological sites, each telling a chapter of its ancient history.
Here on Jordanian land stood the Nabataean, Moabite, and Ammonite kingdoms, the Decapolis cities, and the Roman civilization. Here, on Jordanian soil, on the Jordan River, lies the Baptism Site of Jesus Christ; here is the Cave of the Seven Sleepers mentioned in the holy scriptures; and Jordan tells the story of Machaerus (Mukawer) and the oldest mosaic map. Here, too, are the Umayyad and Abbasid desert castles at Qasr Amra and Qasr Kharana, as well as the castles of Karak and Ajloun.
Jordan’s deep cultural and civilizational heritage has today found in Anovia the appropriate media platform to express its authentic identity and true narrative, conveying to the peoples of the world the antiquity and elegance of Jordan, its people, and its distinguished Hashemite leadership, which enjoys positive relations with leaders across the globe.
Today, after the Jordanian national team—the Nashama—qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico for the first time in its history, our responsibility to promote Jordan as a tourist destination has become great. We must make the most of this major global event that captivates millions around the world. It is an event no less significant than the Pope’s visit to the Baptism Site or Petra’s inclusion among the New Seven Wonders of the World—two milestones from which Jordan benefited greatly in attracting tourism. Successful tourism promotion requires specialized media outlets such as Anovia.
Accordingly, we hope that the Ministry of Tourism, the Tourism Promotion Board, hotel and tourism restaurant associations, and travel and tourism agencies will support Anovia, for tourism is Jordan’s oil.
Sound tourism promotion can attract millions of visitors and quickly stimulate the economy. Data from the Central Bank of Jordan indicate that tourism income for the first 11 months of 2025 reached USD 7.2 billion, due to a 14.7% increase in the number of visitors to the Kingdom. Imagine if this rate rose to 50% or even 100%, and we managed to attract 100 million tourists within five years—how many billions would flow into the Jordanian treasury, and how much would Jordan’s economy and its citizens prosper?
Former media adviser at the Ministry of Tourism.
Published in the Addastour daily 23/12/2025
