The Central Bank of Jordan revealed that the remittances of Jordanian expatriates decreased ten percent during the first eight months of this year, to 1.572 billion dinars ($2.21 billion), compared to the same period last 2019.
Remittances of Jordanian workers abroad began to be negatively affected since the repercussions of the drop in oil prices began to put pressure on Gulf economies, as well as the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic since last March. Remittances of workers abroad are one of the important sources that feed into Jordan's foreign currency reserves, along with foreign direct investment, tourism income and dollar deposits, in addition to export revenues. It is expected that large numbers of Jordanians working abroad will return, and unemployment rates that have reached nearly 23 percent during the first quarter of this year.
As a result of the repercussions of the epidemic, tourism income in Jordan plummeted by 70 percent in the first eight months of this year, to reach 839 million dinars ($1.18 billion), compared to the same period last year.
Regular international flights have resumed in the Kingdom since last September after a closure that lasted about six months, after the government had repeatedly postponed the reopening of Queen Alia International Airport due to concerns that travelers would cause a rise in cases of Coronavirus.
Source (Al-Arab Newspaper-London, Edited)
