THE Institute of Travel and Tourism has ditched plans
to hold its convention in Jordan in June blaming the current political
situation in the Middle East.
The move, which suggests a lack of confidence in the
country, follows a survey of 1,000 of its regular convention delegates. The
poll revealed that 70% of respondents said they would either not go or had
reservations about attending the event.
ITT chairman Steven Freudmann said: “As a travel agent
I regularly send people to Jordan and I would be happy to go there myself, but
there’s no point holding a convention there if we can’t get the delegates to
attend.”
Freudmann insisted the Institute had not
made any financial commitments to Jordan. However, the ITT needs to have a
successful conference to win back member support and boost its dwindling funds.
“We need to hold our convention at a venue that will
attract the maximum number of delegates,” stressed Freudmann. “We would still
consider holding a convention in Jordan in 2003 or beyond once the political
situation has calmed down,” he added.
The most popular alternative destinations among
respondents were Ireland and Marbella.
A spokeswoman for the Jordan Tourist Board said she
was “extremely disappointed” with the ITT’s decision, and criticised the
organisation for sending out the wrong message to both the industry and the
travelling public.
She added: “We were aware the ITT had some doubts, but
we hoped the convention would still go ahead.
“It’s a real shame, and sends out the wrong message.
Jordan is an extremely safe place to visit and business is booming.”