Stained-glass illustration in blue glass of a robot and towers at the dawn of the infrastructure singularity

Sector guide 02 of 22 · Version 1.1

Tourism in Jordan

Ancient places and new destinations in a world with more time to travel.

$13.8bn: forward investment in its own projects
56: projects in this guide
21: in or linked to Aqaba

The sector today

Tourism in Jordan

Few countries hold so much history in so little space. Jordan has seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, from Petra and Wadi Rum to the Baptism Site and Umm al-Jimal, with the Dead Sea at the lowest point on land and the Red Sea coral reefs of Aqaba a few hours' drive to the south.

Tourism earned the country about $7.8 billion in 2025, up nearly 8% on the year before, according to preliminary Central Bank of Jordan data. The Economic Modernisation Vision makes tourism one of its growth drivers and aims to create 99,000 new full-time jobs in the sector over its ten years, through new products, better sites, easier travel and a tourism investment initiative.

The next phase is being built now: a new waterfront district in Aqaba, a museum and pilgrims' village at the Baptism Site for the 2030 bimillennial, cable cars in Amman, Karak and Ajloun, and wellness resorts at the Dead Sea and the hot springs. This guide sets out where the sector stands, the projects in the Jordan PPP project register, and the opportunities it opens as infrastructure moves towards the singularity.

$7.8bn: Tourism revenue in 2025, up nearly 8% on 2024, according to preliminary Central Bank of Jordan data.
7: UNESCO World Heritage Sites, from Petra and Wadi Rum to the Baptism Site, Salt and Umm al-Jimal.
99,000: New full-time tourism jobs targeted by the Economic Modernisation Vision over its ten years.
1.4 million: Visitors carried by the Ajloun cable car since it opened in June 2023, by August 2026.

The singularity

Travel is the reward of the singularity

The infrastructure singularity is the point where roads, grids, ports and water networks become one connected, intelligent system, built by robotics, run by artificial intelligence and financed by tokenization. As machines take on more of the world's work, people gain time, and time is what travel is made of.

Artificial intelligence: Plans each trip in the visitor's language, prices rooms and tickets in real time and spreads crowds across Petra, Jerash and the Dead Sea, so more people can visit fragile sites without harming them.
Robotics: Builds resorts and cable car stations faster, scans and repairs ancient stone with precision, and drives autonomous shuttles between hotels, heritage sites and the remote corners of the desert.
Tokenization: A hotel, eco-lodge or cable car earns income every day. Tokenized stakes let Jordanians and visitors own part of a resort and share in its revenue, widening the investor base for new projects.
Digital twins: Detailed 3D models of Petra, Jerash and the Baptism Site let people explore Jordan from anywhere, which inspires the trip and gives conservators an exact record of every stone.
Abundance of time: As automation shortens working lives and weeks, experience becomes one of the largest things people spend on, and destinations with depth and meaning gain most.

Flagship projects

The projects that lead the sector

Under way · Aqaba waterfront
Marsa Zayed
A 3.2 km² mixed-use waterfront in Aqaba under a 30-year concession from the Aqaba Development Corporation, valued at about US$10 billion over a 15-year plan. Its first project, Riviera Heights, has four towers of 35 to 38 floors with more than 1,250 sea-view homes, and its completion is expected in early 2028.
Pipeline · Amman
Abdali Convention Center
A design, build, finance and operate project for Jordan's largest event complex, on 213,000 m² in Abdali for more than 25,000 people, with a dome, halls, hotels, homes and offices. Valued at about US$1 billion, it is offered to investors and named in the tourism portfolio of the Jordan-EU Investment Conference.
Awarded · Bethany Beyond the Jordan
Bethany Village (Baptism Site)
About 1,400 dunums next to the Baptism Site prepared for the 2030 bimillennial. Four agreements worth US$120 million signed in August 2026 cover a Baptism Museum, a pilgrims' village with a hotel and church, infrastructure and a green corridor, with completion targeted for early 2029.
Under way · Dead Sea
Porto Dead Sea
A resort of hotel apartments, hotels and villas on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, valued at about US$362 million. The beachfront plot is about 45% complete, with its second and third phases due by the end of 2027 and 2028, and a larger hillside plot with a 200-room hotel to follow.
Pipeline · Ajloun
Ajloun Wellness Resort, Al-Jubb
A medical wellness resort on 120 dunums opposite Ajloun Castle with lodges, a spa, a clinic, sports facilities and an organic garden. The municipality has paved the access road, and the project shows how Jordan's green north can host health tourism beside its forests and castles.
Under way · Amman
Amman Cable Car (Teleferic)
An urban cable car with two routes from the Citadel, one to Jabal Al-Weibdeh and one to the Roman Theatre, with design under way and downtown works started in August 2026. It joins the Karak cable car under construction and the Machaerus line offered to investors, following the success of Ajloun.

Every project

56 projects in Jordan’s pipeline

Values in US dollars; * estimated where no figure has been published. Rows in grey sit in another sector and connect to this one.

Project	Location	Stage	Value
Marsa Zayed	Aqaba waterfront	Under way	$10bn
Al Matal Resort	6 km south of Aqaba	Pipeline	$1.5bn
Abdali Convention Center	Abdali, Amman	Pipeline	$1bn
Porto Dead Sea	Dead Sea Development Zone	Under way	$362m
Hotels Boulevard & Mixed-Use Retail Complex	Central Aqaba	Pipeline	$180m*
Bethany Village (Baptism Site)	Bethany Beyond the Jordan	Awarded	$120m
Sharm Project, Dead Sea	Dead Sea Development Zone	Pipeline	$90m*
Aqaba Marine Life Museum & Research Center	Aqaba	Pipeline	$81m
Al-Karak Touristic Beach (Dead Sea)	Dead Sea shore	Open opportunity	$50m*
Aqaba International Exhibition Center (AIEC)	Aqaba	Open opportunity	$34m
Ajloun Wellness Resort, Al-Jubb Area	Al-Jubb area opposite Ajloun Castle, Ajl	Pipeline	$27m
Youth Village Hotel	Aqaba South Coast: plot 207	Pipeline	$24m*
Aqaba Eye	Aqaba southern coast	Under way	$21m*
Agri-tourism Village, Sakhra (Ajloun)	Sakhra, Ajloun	Pipeline	$20m
Boutique Hotel, Zahran Street	Jabal Amman	Awarded	$18m*
Machaerus Cable Car	Madaba Governorate: from a bus parking a	Open opportunity	$18m*
Al Yamaniyeh Beach	Aqaba	Under way	$16m
Heritage Aviation Museum (Aqaba)	Aqaba	Under way	$15m*
Aqaba Promenade	Aqaba	Pipeline	$15m*
Aqaba City Park	Aqaba	Under way	$15m*
Karak City Revitalization & Cable Car	Karak city: castle	Under way	$14m
Al-Hussein Youth Camp, Al-Hisha / Shoubak (Ma'an)	Al-Hisha Al-Fawqa	Pipeline	$14m*
Amman Cable Car (Teleferic)	Downtown Amman: Jabal Al-Qalaa	Under way	$11m
Al-Hussein Youth Camp / Al-Sarou	Al-Sarou	Pipeline	$10m*
Youth Village Al-Jafr	Al-Jafr area	Pipeline	$10m*
Afra Hot Springs Therapeutic Resort	Afra Hot Springs	Open opportunity	$10m*
Wadi Bin Hammad Hot Springs Resort	Wadi Bin Hammad hot springs	Open opportunity	$10m*
Eco-Lodge in Ajloun	Al-Sawan Forest, Ajloun	Open opportunity	$10m*
Chalet Development Project (Ajloun)	Al-Sawan Forest, Ajloun	Open opportunity	$10m*
3 Star Tourist Restaurant (Ajloun)	Al-Sawan Forest	Open opportunity	$10m*
Jerash Eco-Tourism Village	Mountain site about 10 minutes from anci	Under way	$9.9m
4 Star Hotel, Ajloun	Al-Sawan Forest	Open opportunity	$9.4m
Al-Hussein Youth Camp, Ajloun	Ajloun	Pipeline	$8m*
Youth Camp (Aqaba)	Plot 207, Basin 2	Pipeline	$6m*
Al-Faisaliah Youth Hostel	Sayagha area	Under way	$6m*
Ajloun National Park	Al-Sawan Basin, Ajloun	Under way	$5m
Deir Al-Samadiyah Village	Southern Deir Al-Samadiyah	Pipeline	$1.4m
Touristic Village, Shunah Al-Shamali Hot Springs Resort	Shunah Al-Shamali	Open opportunity	$1.3m
Saraya Aqaba	Aqaba	Delivered	$1.6bn
Ayla Oasis / Marina Village	Aqaba	Delivered	$1.4bn*
Ajloun Cable Car (Teleferic Ajloun)	Ajloun	Delivered	$18m
The Fountain Mall (Aqaba)	Central Aqaba	Delivered	$15m*
Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA)	Amman	Under way	$1bn*
North Business District	Aqaba	Pipeline	$670m*
King Hussein Bridge Crossing (Redevelopment)	King Hussein Bridge	Pipeline	$200m
Aqaba Medical Complex	Aqaba	Pipeline	$106m
Irbid City Center Redevelopment	Downtown Irbid: Tell Irbid	Under way	$100m*
Miras Mixed-Use Project (Zarqa East City)	King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz City	Under way	$100m
Medical Center - The Medical Neighborhood	Jabal Amman	Pipeline	$80m*
The Abdali Phase Two	Abdali, central Amman	Under way	$30m
Al Yamaniyeh Creative & Tech District	Aqaba	Under way	$24m
Aqaba New Port Passenger Terminal	Aqaba	Pipeline	$20m*
Aqaba International Circuit (AIC)	Aqaba	Under way	$17m
Culinary Academy	Anjara, Ajloun Governorate	Pipeline	$7m*
Surface Parking Facilities - Ajloun	Al-Sawan Forest	Open opportunity	$7m*
Aqaba Youth City Stadium	Aqaba Youth City, Aqaba	Under way	$5.6m

AI, robotics and tokenization

What changes for tourism in Jordan

Artificial intelligence

For tourism in Jordan, AI turns a scattered set of sites into one managed destination. It can forecast arrivals at Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea, set ticket and room prices by demand, guide visitors in their own language and move crowds across the day. Operators of resorts, cable cars and eco-lodges can plan staff, energy and maintenance around those forecasts, while site managers protect fragile monuments.

What can be built

Destination platform. A shared system that forecasts visitors, prices tickets and rooms and plans transport across Petra, Wadi Rum, Aqaba and the Dead Sea.
Multilingual guides. AI guides on phones and at sites that explain heritage in dozens of languages and adapt each route to the visitor.
Crowds and safety. Cameras and models that spread visitors across Petra's trails and warn of flash floods, heat and overcrowding in real time.
Smart operations. AI that runs resort energy, water and staffing, cutting costs for hotels at the Dead Sea and in Aqaba.

Robotics

Robotics lets Jordan build and care for its destinations with a lighter touch. Modular and robotic construction can raise lodges, visitor centers and cable car stations quickly at sensitive sites, drones and scanners can record the condition of every monument, and service robots can clean, deliver and maintain resorts. Autonomous electric shuttles can link hotels, castles and valleys without new roads through protected land.

What can be built

Modular lodges. Eco-lodges and chalets built off site and placed in forests, deserts and beside hot springs with little disturbance to the land.
Heritage scanning. Drones, laser scanners and robots that map Petra, Jerash and the castles and help conservators repair stone with precision.
Autonomous shuttles. Electric self-driving shuttles between hotels, visitor centers and sites in Aqaba, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea.
Resort service robots. Robots for cleaning, delivery and pool and solar maintenance that keep resorts running at lower cost.

Tokenization

Tourism assets earn revenue every day from rooms, tickets and services, the steady cash flow that tokens represent well. A resort, eco-lodge or cable car in Jordan can sell tokenized stakes to residents, the diaspora, regional investors and visitors, and pay each holder as the revenue arrives. That widens the money available for new destinations and gives Jordanians a direct share in the places they host.

What can be built

Tokenized resorts. Stakes in hotels and resorts at the Dead Sea and in Aqaba that pay holders a share of room revenue.
Cable car shares. Tokens in new cable car lines in Amman, Karak and Machaerus that pay out from every ticket sold.
Eco-lodge funds. Pooled tokens that finance many small lodges, camps and restaurants in Ajloun, Shoubak and at the hot springs.
Visitor ownership. Tokens that let visitors own part of a destination they love, with stays and benefits alongside revenue.

Small PPPs and unsolicited proposals

Small PPPs and research labs

Small PPPs suit tourism well, because many of Jordan's opportunities are lodges, camps, restaurants and attractions below US$14.1 million that can be bundled into one tender. A tourism research lab can test ideas within a season through pilots of about $100,000 each, such as an AI visitor-flow system on one Petra trail, a solar-powered modular eco-lodge in Ajloun's Al-Sawan forest, or a digital ticket and guide app for the Wadi Bin Hammad hot springs.

How it works

Unsolicited proposals under Article 15

A company can bring a direct proposal under Article 15 of PPP Law No. 19 of 2023 for a project it designs itself. Examples include a visitor center and electric shuttle network for Wadi Rum, a wellness resort at an unlisted hot spring, a heritage trail with lodges linking the castles of Ajloun, Karak and Shoubak, or a digital ticketing and visitor management concession for national sites, financed and run by the company.

How it works

New industries

What the sector can create

01Wellness and longevityClinics and resorts at the Dead Sea and the hot springs that combine mineral therapies with medical science and AI health monitoring.
02Immersive heritageDigital twins, augmented reality and virtual tours of Petra and Jerash, sold worldwide and used on site.
03Pilgrimage at scaleHotels, routes and services built for millions of faith visitors around the 2030 bimillennial and the years that follow.
04Events and conventionsA meetings industry anchored by large venues in Abdali and Aqaba, hosting regional congresses, exhibitions and sport.
05Cable and autonomous mobilityCable cars, electric shuttles and self-driving links that connect castles, valleys and coasts with the cities.
06Tokenized hospitalityHotels, eco-lodges and attractions owned in small tokenized stakes, opening tourism investment to many more people.

Opportunities

Where partners come in

Listed opportunities: Bid for resorts, eco-lodges, chalets and restaurants listed on Invest Jordan, from the hot springs of Afra and Wadi Bin Hammad to the Al-Sawan forest in Ajloun.
Camps and villages: Redevelop youth camps and villages in Ajloun, Salt, Shoubak, Al-Jafr and Aqaba as resorts, hostels and nature lodges.
Direct proposals: Propose a project under Article 15 of PPP Law No. 19 of 2023, such as a cable car, a visitor center or a heritage trail.
Small-scale PPPs: Regulation No. 9 of 2024 allows small-scale PPPs below about US$14.1 million to be bundled into one tender, which suits lodges, camps and attractions.
Zones and Aqaba: Invest in the Aqaba Special Economic Zone and the development zones at the Dead Sea and Ajloun, with incentives under the Investment Environment Law.
Investment and ownership: Finance resorts and attractions through hospitality funds, development banks and tokenized stakes that open ownership to more investors.

Stained-glass illustration in blue glass of a city of towers under a rising arch

The road to the singularity

2026Baptism Site agreements signed; Amman and Karak cable cars in works; Abdali Convention Center and hot springs offered to investors.
2030The Baptism bimillennial brings pilgrims from around the world; Riviera Heights and Porto Dead Sea open their first phases.
2035AI guides, dynamic pricing and crowd planning run across major sites; wellness resorts line the Dead Sea and hot springs.
2040Autonomous shuttles and cable lines link cities, castles and coasts; tokenized ownership finances most new hotels.
2050Jordan hosts a far larger travelling world, with heritage protected by digital twins and robots and tourism among its largest employers.

Jordan's history and landscapes cannot be copied, and their value grows as the world gains time to travel. The projects in this guide prepare the country to welcome that world in comfort and to keep its heritage safe for the next century.

Download the sector guide (PDF)

Guides for organizations

Launch a PPP program of your own

The guides closest to tourism in Jordan, each showing one kind of organization how to launch a PPP program, with six first steps.

Economic sectors
Tourism and Hospitality Companies
Your company launches a PPP program to develop and run hotels, resorts and visitor experiences at the country’s heritage and nature sites, from Petra and Wadi Rum to the Dead Sea and Aqaba.
Read PDF
Economic sectors
Heritage and Antiquities Institutions
Your institution launches a PPP program to build and run visitor centers, museums, conservation labs, digital records and heritage trails as public-private partnerships (PPPs), with conservation first.
Read PDF
Economic sectors
Nature Reserves and Conservation Bodies
Your organization launches a PPP program to build and run eco-lodges, visitor centers, trails and the water, solar and waste systems of Jordan’s reserves as public-private partnerships (PPPs).
Read PDF
Economic sectors
Sports and Entertainment Companies
Your company launches a PPP program to build and run stadiums, arenas, sports cities, theme parks and event venues as public-private partnerships (PPPs) on government land.
Read PDF