Tourism, Politics and Social Change in Petra Region, Jordan : a Community in Crisis, 1994 - 2014

Kurzfassung/Abstract

Dr. Sami Alhasanat explores in detail the impact of international mass tourism on the residents of Wadi Musa, Jordan and relates how customs and values handed down from past generations have changed – perhaps irrevocably – for everyone, whether or not they are working directly in tourism. The goal of his work presented here is to capture a community at a time of critical transition in its social, cultural, political, and economic lives – all of which are entangled almost inextricably with tourism.

In 2007, Petra had achieved new status by being named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. This new phenomenon was welcomed by some but also led to a fracturing of the community. Resentment towards those who were benefiting economically from tourism, coupled with increased pressure on the local infrastructure and natural environment, made daily life more difficult for the people in the region.

To help alleviate the adversity, the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority was established, but this only further isolated and divided the residents of Wadi Musa. They felt that they had lost control of their own region and became more concerned about their needs – for employment, for improvement of local social services, and for care of the natural resources.

Alhasanat describes how elections to choose a candidate for Parliament in Wadi Musa facilitated a change in attitude and that, for a time at least, the period of the election process and the ‘urs watani, the ‘national wedding’, a time of celebration, helped unify the people in the region. His hope for the future is that the Petra region will turn to conventional family and tribal structures as a way of restoring the balance.