Tourism is an important element of the Jordanian economy accounting for approximately 10% of the country’s gross domestic product. However, at the moment, the main focus lies in the western part of the country wherein lie Petra, Jerash, the Dead Sea, Wadi Rum and innumerable other sites of interest. The eastern panhandle within which our study lies lacks both the infrastructure and the advertising to draw visitors in. This is not to say that work is under way to alter this, most notably by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN).
Currently tourism is hampered by a lack of sufficient accommodation that would hold people there for more than a day. There is a superb RSCN lodge at Azraq and a government Rest House but that is about it. As a result those visitors who do come will generally have a lengthy coach journey out and back from Amman. Above all the area is a case study in survival under harsh conditions.
