Advisor: Dr. Kamel Mahadin

Abstract:
Tourism is playing an increasingly important role in the world economy. At the beginning of 1990¹s, tourism in the developing countries, reached a new height, in terms of the flow of tourists, tourist receipts, and tourism expenditures. Currently, international tourism is second after oil in world trade, and it has been projected that by the turn of the century it will be the most important sector of industry.

Beginning in the 1970¹s, the promising role of tourism attracted the attention of developing countries such as Jordan, who began looking at tourism as a major component of economic development strategies. Tourism is now one of Jordan¹s largest and faster growing industries. This sector of activity represents the second source of revenue in the country, with a total of 11.70 % of the GNP. This study discusses the opportunities as well as the risks of tourism in relation to Jordan¹s cultural heritage. While tourism can be a force for conservation, it will only have a positive impact if the level and type of tourism management are appropriate, and if the ³carrying capacity² of an area is respected.

This research is an attempt to prove the above hypothesis by analyzing the impact of tourism on the Petra region through understanding its social and physical carrying capacity. Also, it will offer guidelines to make tourism development more in empathy with the culture, history and geography of the area.

The focus of this study is twofold
First: it examines the level of awareness of the impact of tourism in Jordan.
Second: it raises the issue of the costs and benefits of tourism through examination of the social an physical impact of tourism in the Petra region.

A literature review will provide a conceptual framework for the role of tourism in cultural development. Interviews will be used to obtain data that measure the level of awareness among officials and local people of the impact of tourism. Casual and participant observations will be the means of making a critical assessment of all relevant costs and benefits of this industry to the area.

Too often in the past tourism planning and development have not been rigorous enough, and the environment has suffered as a consequence. In effect, the Jordanian government must pay more attention to the use of tourism as a means of protecting the cultural heritage of the area.

Tourism awareness must be promoted, if environmental standards are to be maintained. This is leading to an increasing emphasis on the assessment of the impact of tourism and on the preparation of tourism development plans. The carrying capacity of a particular region or site with regards to tourism is one of the criteria being used to assess the degree to which tourism development can proceed before limits are exceeded and deterioration in quality ensues, whether for tourists or, equally importantly, for the local population.