AMMAN — Prime Minister Jafar Hassan on Wednesday inaugurated the Crown Plaza Petra Hotel, closed since 2012, following extensive renovations.

 

The hotel’s reopening comes after renovation works were accelerated over the past three months, following the prime minister’s first visit to Petra last year. During his October inspection, he directed the Social Security Investment Fund, which owns the property, to expedite renovations and reopen the hotel early this year, according to a Prime Ministry statement.

 

Established in 1980, the hotel features 143 units, including 62 rooms and 81 chalets, alongside a conference hall accommodating nearly 300 guests. It provides roughly 200 jobs, prioritising employment for members of the local community.

 

During the tour, the prime minister also visited the Cultural Village, launched in 2023 on a 65-dunum site, which offers local employment and promotes tourism and heritage programs. Hassan stressed enhancing these programmes and actively marketing local products, particularly traditional handicrafts, to enrich the tourist experience and support community development.

 

He also highlighted the importance of diversifying tourism offerings in Petra to showcase the city’s cultural and historical heritage while maximising benefits for the local population.

 

Hassan also visited the Hyatt Zaman Hotel and Resort, established in 1994 and renovated in 2022. Locally owned, the hotel maintains a 75 per cent occupancy rate. The prime minister commended it as a successful model of community investment, creating about 100 jobs and strengthening Petra’s tourism sector.

 

He also instructed a comprehensive maintenance and reopening of the Petra Sports Stadium to support youth and community sports activities.

 

The prime minister was accompanied by Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Emad Hijazin, Petra Development and Tourism Authority Chairman Fares Brizat, and Maan Governor Khaled Hajaj.

 

Brizat said that Petra has seen a notable surge in visitor numbers this month, up nearly 70 per cent from 2023 and 64 per cent from 2024. The city has welcomed tourists from new Arab markets, including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Syria, and Libya, boosted by the resumption of Royal Jordanian flights.

 

Hotel occupancy in Petra rose from 7 per cent in 2024 to 30 per cent by the end of 2025, while tourist numbers doubled from 115,000 during the last quarter of 2024 to 210,000 during the same period in 2025.