Unrest in the Middle East takes heavy toll on tourist sector...

Tourism professionals in the Middle East are bracing for fallout from the revolts shaking the region, with cancellations affecting even countries so far spared from the upheavals, notably Jordan and Syria.

"Tourists are being influenced by the media coverage and are putting the whole Middle East in one bag, not differentiating between one country and another," Touhama Naboulsi, an official with Jordan's Tourism Board, said.

"Some tourists have cancelled trips to all Arab countries and of course this includes Jordan," he added.

Several sources in the hotel sector said cancellations have reached a worrying 50 percent, while one tour operator said that for every 3,000 tourists originally booked to travel to Jordan in the coming months 1,200 are cancelling. More..

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