This interview forms part of a series of interviews with stakeholders under MEDUSA project to shade the light on the adventure tourism in our partner territories in Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Puglia (Italy) and Catalonia (Spain).

Enjoy reading.

Interview with Ayman Abdelkarim, the Co-founder and General Manager of Experience Jordan Adventures

Tell us a bit about yourself, and about Experience Jordan Adventures?

I'm the Co-founder and General Manager of Experience Jordan Adventures, an inbound tour company based in Jordan. We specialize in soft adventures, cultural and experiential tours, and customized luxury trips.  We are all travelers ourselves, so we aim to treat our customers the way we would like to be treated. I think our mission "Improving Lives Through Adventure Tourism" communicates a lot about who we are and how we do business. 

As a company, we've contributed to the development of the national hiking trail, and we established and developed the national biking trail. We work mainly with international travelers. However, we do also organize weekly trips/walks aimed at enhancing, building and expanding the adventure culture in Jordan for both locals and expats throughout the week.

What in your opinion are the strengths of the adventure tourism product in Jordan?

The wide variety of products and local experiences, the untouched hiking and biking trails, and of course, the genuine generosity and the Jordanian people’s kindness makes the experiences extra special. 

From your experience, how does adventure tourism impact the environment and the local communities in which such activities take place?

In addition to creating jobs for people in rural communities, I believe adventure tourism can contribute to financing the protection of natural areas and increase their economic importance. It is our responsibility, as adventure tourism providers, to contribute to raising awareness about the different ways to protect the environment. 

What would be your message to tourists who are considering to visit Jordan, taking into account COVID-19’s measures? 

Travel within small groups; just as important as protecting yourself and your loved ones is shielding other people. You don’t want to bring the virus from your place of residence, especially to areas with low case numbers, or to bring it home. The most important advice is to check the safety guidelines and the country's protocols and follow them.

Do you see any cross-border synergies in the adventure segment with other Mediterranean neighborhood countries? 

Yes, sure! These countries share lots of similarities when it comes to weather, landscape and even eating habits. So, it's very important to learn and exchange knowledge with these countries in order for all of us to develop and improve our adventure products.