Second Tourism Development Project / Controlled Urban Growth and Tourism Development Master Plan Study for Ajloun Tourism Development Area

Project's main objective in Ajloun is achieving socio-economic development for the local community through a synergy between tourism (eco and heritage), urban regeneration, and rural development. The Project will have two major consequences: 1.providing economic opportunities for the local communities (create income generating opportunities and employment) while achieving rural development; 2. reintroducing and regenerating the historic urban cores, sustaining and developing the nature reserves, and protecting and representing the archaeological and nature sites.

Controlled Urban Growth and Tourism Development Master Plan Study (a) address key environmental and urban development issues of the area; and (b) help formulate a vision and a public investment program for sustainable development and tourism promotion of the natural area, including the city of Ajloun, the Ajloun Castle, and the pilgrimage sites.

The specific objectives of the Study include the following key tasks:

" Collect all relevant aerial, topographic, plant cover, and land use maps and plans, perform updates wherever necessary. Document and analyze environmental resources of value, concern, and/or sensitivity, including sites having/needing official recognition and protection. On the basis of this information analyze the physical potential of this zone, identify protected zones, whose archaeological and/or agricultural use should be preserved and where no development or only limited development would be allowed.
" Perform standard analyses of population growth, zoning, public services and infrastructure network now serving the area and capable of expansion and/or extension to serve proposed tourism development. Present the most likely growth scenarios for the zone with and without in-migration caused by proposed accelerated tourism development.
" Identify and designate zones with tourism potential to be promoted for investment in recreational and natural tourism infrastructure.
" Assess the existing potential of urban areas to support the strategy of overall tourism development of the predominantly non-urbanized study area: by offering some cultural, commercial, recreational, informational, or agro-industrial products and services that can be found within the urban centres, or 'exported' throughout the Ajloun Tourism Development Area and broader.
" Identify opportunities for economic regeneration of the urban areas.
" Prepare a Master Pan for the Ajloun Tourism Development Area, and identify and describe the principal opportunities and constraints of the proposed tourism development zone.