42% of Jordanians considering emigration over economic woes, report finds

A whopping 42 per cent of Jordanians are considering emigrating due to the deteriorating living and economic crisis in the country, a new report revealed yesterday.

The report published by the Arab Barometer organisation showed that Jordan came second after Tunisia in terms of the number of young people wishing to emigrate in search of a better living. Some 46 per cent of Tunisians said they wanted to leave the country.

Ironically, Palestine, which has been experiencing an even worse economic and security situation since 7 October due to Israel’s war on the besieged Gaza Strip and ongoing attacks on the occupied West Bank, maintained the same percentage from two years ago; standing at 35 per cent. The report came hours after the Chief Commissioner of Petra Development and Tourism Authority, Fares Braizat, announced that 35 hotels had closed their doors in the city.

Braizat said on Sunday that the closure of hotels harms the revenues of the Petra Regional Authority as well as the local community due to the significant decline in the tourism activity by no less than 80 per cent in the current season due to the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. He explained that more than 90 per cent of the hotel rooms in the city had closed while more than 320 employees were laid off.

READ: Youth unemployment in Arab states worse than pre-Covid years, report reveals