We, at Jordan Tourism Board North America (JTBNA), are delighted to announce that we have received the Gold award for Overseas Destination Marketing Organization by the National Tour Association (NTA) during the 2017 Travel Exchange Conference in St. Louis! Through this award, we also received recognition for being named one of Courier’s Distinguished Dozen.

In October, NTA tour operators voted for the top DMO and Tour Supplier Partners in 12 different categories. These categories make up Courier's Distinguished Dozen. The awards are given based on quality of product, level of customer service, value to customers and dedication to relationship building. To be honored by our industry peers is an amazing feeling, and we congratulate all the 2017 award recipients.

Malia Asfour, Director of JTBNA, says “It’s an honor to receive the award for overseas DMO partner. The Jordan Tourism Board team takes pride in serving the North American travel community.” All of us here at JTBNA are proud to have been recognized with this award and look forward to continuing to share Jordan with the travel community as the incredible and welcoming destination that it is.

We would like to go on to give special thanks to Pam Inman, NTA President and all NTA staff for their hard work. It was great to meet with the tour operator partners that we are working with and have worked with for a long time. The 2017 Travel Exchange Conference provided a great opportunity to meet potential partners and assist them in developing Jordan programs for 2017 and 2018.

For those of us who attended, it was a pleasure getting to see the Broadway Inbound and NYC: The Official Guide performances as well as Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George performing in Chicago The Musical! We also got to experience Chris Bashinelli giving an inspiring keynote at the Opening Ceremony sponsored by Travel Alliance Partners (TAP). We met with Mr. Aziz Abu Sarah, a National Geographic explorer and cultural educator; TED speaker/fellow and co-founder of MEJDI Tours, a company which promotes itself as a cultural exploration vehicle for an ever-changing travel market. We were inspired by Mr. Sarah because as a native Palestinian, his goal is to engage in business and people-to-people peacemaking by facilitating travel that breaks down psychological walls and stereotypes.

Lastly, we would like to thank Explore St. Louis for hosting this great event in your wonderful city. We look forward to growing our relationships and partnerships with tour operators around the country and hope to share the magnificence and wonder of Jordan with North American travelers.

NTA is the leading association for professionals serving travelers to, from and within North America. Since its founding in 1951, the association has served a broad and diverse membership and helped them expand market reach with innovative business tools, strategic relationships and collaboration within the industry. NTA membership represents more than 40 countries. To learn more about NTA, please visit NTAonline.com/