Turkish Airlines inks deal with ancient city of Petra

PETRA - Anadolu Agency

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Turkish Airlines and the Petra Development and Tourism Authority have signed a “marketing sponsorship” agreement, granting Turkish Airlines passengers who travel to Petra generous discounts on entry tickets into Jordan’s most popular heritage sites when they present their boarding passes.

The agreement was signed by Turkish Airlines Deputy General Manager Ahmet Olmuştur, Jordanian Tourism Minister Nayif Al-Fayiz, Petra Development and Tourism Authority President Muhammet Al-Nawafelh and Petra Development and Tourism Director Dr. Emad Hijazeen on Nov. 18. 

“This deal will enable us to attract more tourists as Turkish Airlines will offer several discounts to our potential guests. Many Jordanian people see Turkish Airlines as if it were their own domestic company,” said Al-Fayiz at the signature ceremony. 

Emphasizing the historical importance of Petra, Al-Fayiz said Jordanian authorities have been in a bid to revive the site and increase its popularity. 

“An autonomous administration was organized to meet this goal. We use all ways to lure more tourists. Our deal with Turkish Airlines will also make positive contribution on Turkish-Jordanian ties,” he said. 

Adding to this, Turkish Airlines will also be promoted at the entry of the Petra Visitor Centre by Jordanian authorities, and in exchange for this, the airline will offer special discounts to tour agents for events organized in other countries by the Petra Development and Tourism Authority.

Olmuştur said Turkish Airlines will work to promote Petra as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World through various channels. 

“We plan to support this historic destination by promoting Petra through our internal channels and Skylife, our inflight magazine. The airline will also promote the city in its external communications by supporting their marketing and development projects,” he said.

Symbol of Jordan: Petra

Throughout their collaboration, Turkish Airlines and the Petra Development and Tourism Authority will participate in international tourism fairs together, while the two entities will host agencies, press and public figures from other countries across the world to promote Petra’s tourism appeal, said Omuştur. 

“In line with our deal, our passengers who show their boarding passes will benefit from a 15 percent discount on Petra’s entrance ticket, which is $72,” he said. 

Established possibly as early as 312 B.C. as the capital city of the Arab Nabataeans, Petra is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan’s most-visited tourist attraction. While more than 1 million people visited the ancient city in 2010, this figure fell to around 650,000 in 2014 due to regional conflicts and security concerns. 

Turkish Airlines offers four weekly flights to Aqaba and 14 weekly flights to Amman. 

The company carried around 25,000 passengers to Aqaba in 2014 and this year aims to increase this figure to around 29,000, according to company representatives.