JORDAN — TTAND’s annual travel agent conference kicked off in Jordan this week, celebrating the host agency’s 10th anniversary.
In collaboration with G Adventures, the Jordan Tourism Board and Royal Jordanian Airlines, TTAND is holding a week-long conference in three locations across Jordan for 284 participants. So it’s fitting that this year’s conference theme is “Trailblazers.”
TTAND donates to Safi Kitchen
From l-r: Karim Makhlouf, chief commercial officer of Royal Jordanian Airlines; David Green, strategic leader with G Adventures; Flemming Friisdahl, founder and president of TTAND
And “being in Jordan is one example of that,” said Flemming Friisdahl, TTAND’s founder and president, during the opening session. He also showed agents a sneak peek of TTAND’s new hub that be easier to navigate with AI-powered tools for content creation.
“We don’t want you to be computer geeks. But we want you to see the analytics, the ability (to see) how many people go onto your site,” he said. “You’ll be able to build your own campaigns super, super fast, like way faster than you’ve done before.”
TTAND travel agents and suppliers flew to Jordan on a chartered Dreamliner with Royal Jordanian Airlines. Founded in 1963, the airline is looking to expand — and to bring more visitors to Jordan.
“We ordered 30 brand-new aircrafts for the next three years and we want to double our size. And how do we do that? Mainly by promoting the country,” said Karim Makhlouf, chief commercial officer of Royal Jordanian Airlines.
Jordan receives fewer than 4 million tourists per year, he said, but the airline has plans to grow from 3.6 million passengers in 2023 to 7.2 million passengers by 2027. To do that, it’s launching a new website that will promote all that Jordan has to offer, such as culinary tourism (such as wineries in the desert).
Jordan stands for a “modern, contemporary and authentic” Middle Eastern experience, he said, while more well-known Middle Eastern destinations, like Dubai and Qatar, are “super everything.” He also wants to shine a spotlight on Amman as a destination city, since it’s still relatively unknown.
“What we are trying is to build a boutique airline, with a boutique country—with a relatively unknown country,” he said.
The airline will be updating its aircraft to the new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. Currently, it offers two flights per week from both Montreal and Toronto (and up to three flights per week during holidays). It also connects to Canadian destinations via a relationship with Air Canada.
After arriving in Jordan on Monday, agents had the choice to visit one of two Planeterra projects: Beit
From l-r: David Green, strategic leader with G Adventures; Abd Jawad, manager of Safi Kitchen; Flemming Friisdahl, founder and president of TTAND
Khayrat Souf café or Safi Kitchen.
Planeterra is an NGO that aims to turn “travel into impact in communities” by using tourism as a catalyst to improve people’s lives, protect natural environments and celebrate diverse cultures. To date, it has launched well over 100 social enterprises and community projects, which are incorporated into G Adventures tours; Project 300 aims to expand that to 300 communities by the year 2030.
TTAND agents brought along suitcases filled with donations, which were presented to Abd Jawad, manager of Safi Kitchen, on Tuesday. At each conference, TTAND picks a local grassroots charity “so that we can give back to the communities that we go to,” said Friisdahl.
Safi Kitchen is one of Planeterra’s new projects in Jordan. The farm-to-table cookery school treats travellers to an authentic meal experience, while seeing the fresh ingredients picked and used in their meals.
“Safi Kitchen is in a small village — this village is not well known, nobody knows about it,” said Jawad. “But after working with G Adventures and (Planeterra), many people visit us and it’s become a destination.”
But it’s more than a cookery school. For example, locals frequent the restaurant and can rent it out for events, which generates additional revenue for Safi Kitchen. “They support the community — it’s not just travellers,” said David Green, strategic leader with G Adventures.
TTAND asked G Adventures to reach out to Safi Kitchen to find out what the local community needs. Agents responded by donating everything from educational tools to shoes and clothing for local youth.
“A huge thanks to The Travel Agent Next Door, Flemming and the team and all the agents,” said Green.
G Adventures will also be taking home a TTAND supplier award for “most supportive land/guided tour partner.”