Travel Review: I might not have found Jesus in Jordan but I felt my grandparents

A traveller visited the UNESCO-recognised Baptism Site (Bethany Beyond the Jordan) in October 2025 and felt a brief reconnection with grandparents who had visited in 1982. The article reports that Jordan is promoting faith-based tourism and aims to grow the sector to about $700m by 2035.

The author travelled to Jordan in October 2025 to visit the Baptism Site known as Bethany Beyond the Jordan. The trip followed a family connection: the author's grandparents made a pilgrimage to Jordan and Israel in 1982 and brought home water used for the author's baptism. Jordan's government is promoting faith-based tourism as an economic and cultural priority. Regional conflict has reduced visitor numbers in recent years and remains a challenge for the sector. Key details: - The author visited the UNESCO-recognised Baptism Site (Bethany Beyond the Jordan) north of the Dead Sea and described a brief, personal feeling of reunion with grandparents. - The author's grandparents visited the River Jordan in 1982 and the grandmother brought home water used for the author's baptism. - Jordan aims to expand faith-based tourism and has set a target of around $700m for the sector by 2035, with plans to improve connectivity, invest in technology, create multi-site passes, hold events, and train guides. - Petra received 1,070,438 visits in 2023; the following year that number fell by nearly 64%, and the decline is linked in the article to regional instability. - The Baptism Site includes archaeological remains of churches from the 5th–12th centuries and visible features such as the John the Baptist Church, marble steps, the Mantle Chapel, and a cruciform-shaped Baptismal Pool. Summary: The visit provided a personal moment of connection amid a site of long religious and historical significance, and the author reflects on interfaith stewardship and memories tied to family pilgrimage. Jordan is actively encouraging recovery and growth in faith-based tourism through infrastructure, marketing, guide training and events, and there are plans for new air links including a proposed direct route from Dublin in 2027.