One never forgets their first visit to Petra. The Nabatean Archaeological Wonder is located in Southern Jordan amidst vast deserts and is considered one of the iconic World Heritage Sites. It is a must-see on every travelers list to the Middle East.
I have been fortunate to see Petra over ten times – and each visit is awesome and unique-for the season and the environment are in constant change, with new discoveries still unfolding.
My first visits were in the 1990’s while setting up Tauck’s tours – taking in the sights on foot and by camel, and returning often in horse-drawn carriages. Not much change in that regard. What has changed, today, is the enormous barrage of foot and animal traffic now in Petra. Where once only a few hundred visitors walked in awe, today there are often over 3,000 visitors a day. The issue is getting worse.
The nearby city of Aqaba with its elegant resorts and cruise terminals has expansive developments that will soon be open in 2011 adding over 2,000 rooms and some 6,000 people and employees…as future day-trippers to Petra and Wadi Rum.
Petra is a World Heritage site with a carrying capacity of maximum 2,500 people. Surely the current situation is no model for Sustainable Tourism. Urgent action is needed.
In October 2009, the Jordanian Government assigned a new Chief Commissioner to oversee the Petra Regional Authority, a move that will vastly increase public-private partnerships and actions to protect Petra. We met with the Chief Commissioner and his Commissioner of the Environment and Local Communities, where we learned even more how tourism companies and travelers can help.
In addition, non-profits such as Petra National Trust have worked hard to protect the site with special project management. And USAID and its local Siyaha group are actively involved. We were pleased to be hosted by Dr. Joe Ruddy, Ibrahim Ostas and Ali Goussous of Siyaha. Robin Tauck & Partners in lending our active participation and support through a host of initiatives here that may well become models for the broader Middle East Region.
