The Potential for Developing Community-based Tourism among the Bedouins in the Badia of Jordan

Abstract

Population displacement through desertification has affected the socioeconomic and cultural development of Jordan's Badia desert. To counterbalance this change, it is important to preserve and revitalise cultural heritage as a source of tourism development in the desert. One possible way of revitalising the Badia regions is to highlight their cultural resources for tourism. The goal of the study is to find alternative tourism resources based on understanding the potential tourism resources in the Badia and to attract tourists for cultural heritage experiences. The analysis suggests new opportunities for cultural heritage tourism with elements of Bedouin material and non-material culture. Solutions include establishing community-based Bedouin tourism that involves the local people in partnership with the BRDC,1 expanding the tourism network to include the Badia region using resources such as folkways and archaeology to enrich the experience, building a rest house; and erecting a Bedouin heritage village. This will generate income and give Badia indigenous communities additional revenue, thereby positively impacting the regional and national economy.