Jordan's tourism sector plays a vital role in the Kingdom's economy, yet Northern Jordan has not benefited from tourism. It suffers from a stagnant economy, high unemployment, dependency upon agriculture, and an under-utilization of its most important assets — its archaeology and heritage. Our project applies the principles of cultural resource management (CRM) to tourism development. The plan uses an eastern and western touristway to integrate the cultural and tourism services for the entire northern region using a heritage/tourism center, two gateway communities near major heritage sites, and other tourism assets in Northern Jordan. This strategy targets our core market, low-volume, high-yield visitors. These tourists consume different kinds of tourism services than those offered to large groups. They tend to purchase local goods and services that directly benefit local residents. More importantly, attracting this type of tourism does not require the large front-end costs associated with mass tourism. This plan can be implemented quickly and inexpensively with less disruption to communities and the environment. Many elements of the plan were incorporated in the recently released, Jordan Strategic Tourism Plan 2004-2010.

William A. Schwab received his Ph.D. in sociology in 1976 from Ohio State University. His major fields are urban ecology and demography. His research interests are in urban change on the neighborhood level, rural health care, and sustainable development in the less developed world. He also has an extensive publication record including four books. He has been the principle investigator of four National Science Foundation Grants, as well as the principle investigator on other grants including work with the United States State Department and USAID. These grants involve the coordination of faculty in multiple disciplines. For the past nine year, he has worked in Jordan on projects involving cultural resource management, community development, and sustainable tourism. He is the chair of the department of sociology and former associate dean of Fulbright College.

Margaret Reid is Associate Professor of political science at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. She also teaches in the interdisciplinary Public Policy PhD programs where she focuses on the management of public private partnerships and networks in various policy arenas. Her current research focuses on gendered workplaces in the public and private sectors, and challenges associated with public-nonprofit alliances for sustainable community development (both in US and in international settings). She also was member of a team of colleagues to work with Jordanian counterparts on the establishment of a sustainable tourism strategy for northern Jordan. She recently completed a book with Kerr and Miller Glass Walls and Glass Ceilings (2003). Her work has been published in Public Administration Review, Women and Politics, Urban Affairs Review, Sex Roles, IT journals and numerous other outlets.