His Majesty King Abdullah II announced at the Dead Sea area on Sunday the National Strategy for Tourism which had been set by the Tourism Ministry to encourage competitiveness of this sector, and increase its contribution to the gross domestic product.

"This sector, tops our priorities due to its ability to create job opportunities, support the state's budget and attract investment," the King said.

The strategy which was announced in the presence of a group of regional and international tourism experts on the sidelines of meetings of the World Economic Forum, includes two major aspects related to reducing taxes on the hotel sector, and managing the tourism and archaeological sites.

Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Dr. Alia Bouran told Jordan News Agency that the strategy called for reducing taxes on stay at hotels from 16 percent to 6 percent with a view to increase competitiveness of this sector.

The second aspect includes the opening of tourism and archaeological sites for private sector investment within conditions put by the tourism ministry.

It is expected that this strategy will help in attracting 12 million tourists to Jordan until the year 2010 and provide 91,000 job opportunities during this period.