Cyprus and Jordan will join forces in promoting joint tourist packages, particularly from long-distance destinations, in a bid to boost their tourism sectors, Deputy Minister for Tourism Savvas Perdios told CNA.

Perdios visited Jordan's capital, Amman, aiming to continue an effort that started in 2019 between the two countries but was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Jordan’s interest is warm and we decided to start where we left off (in 2019) as we were stopped by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Perdios told CNA from Amman, recalling that the authorities of the two countries had agreed to most issues back in 2019 but the implementation was halted.

Perdios also recalled that Jordan recently lifted all restrictions associated with COVID-19 while Cyprus is soon expected to follow suit. “We feel that this is the right moment to rekindle the issue,” he said.

During his stay in Amman, Perdios met with the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities and held separate high-level meetings with Royal Jordanian and Jordan Tourism Board.

“The intention is there, it was decided to work in the coming months on the pending details,” he added.

The two countries aim to complemented each other in promoting joint tourist packages as the duration of air travel between the two countries is just 50 minutes long, Perdios said, adding that Jordan and Cyprus will proceed with joint promotion campaigns.

He added that the aim is to promote joint tourist packages in the next season, with promotion work expected to begin by the end of this year.

According to the Cypriot Minister, Cyprus and Jordan can complement each other, with the sea and beaches, as well as the routes to villages Cyprus has to offer, while Jordan offers unique experiences in the desert, and the two countries have different and joint cultural and historic features.

He also said that the aim is to promote four or five day visits for tourist visiting the two countries, as the campaign will target tourists from long-distance countries, whose vacations range between ten days to two weeks.

Asked whether this new effort could bear fruit this time, after similar efforts in the past with other neighbouring countries, Perdios said the Deputy Ministry has made more than 20 trips to the neighouring countries in the past few years, while he visited Jordan five times.

“We feel that the potential with Jordan is great, we believe we are ready to assist each other with regard to joint tourist packages,” he added.

He also said that the 2019 agreement had to be updated as the Cypriot Deputy Ministry has added twelve new labels in its tourist experienced, as the Heartland of Legends.

According to World Bank data, tourist arrivals in Jordan in 2019 (pre-COVID-19) amounted to 5.36 million while arrivals in Cyprus in the same year reached an all-time record of 4 million.