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WADI RUM — The first international event combining hot-air balloon skydiving and aerial sports, including paramotoring, opened in Wadi Rum on Thursday, bringing together 16 professional participants from several European countries.
The event, which runs from 1 to 10 October 2026, is being held under the patronage of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA).
The event is organised through a partnership between ASEZA and Balloons Over Rum, in cooperation with European clubs specialising in aerial sports and skydiving. Participants include professional skydivers, paramotor pilots, photographers, and technical and logistical support teams, according to ASEZA statement.
The programme also includes paramotoring flights over the desert landscape, as well as professional photography and video production aimed at documenting Wadi Rum’s distinctive geological formations and natural scenery.
As part of the event, participants will also visit Aqaba to explore its tourism attractions and promote greater integration between the tourism offerings of Aqaba and Wadi Rum.
Thabet Nabulsi, Commissioner for Tourism and Youth at ASEZA, said that Wadi Rum was selected to host the event because of its distinctive natural and geological features.
“Hosting high-calibre events like this provides a strategic opportunity to solidify Wadi Rum’s position as a global destination for desert, adventure and aerial tourism,” he said, adding that such events could help diversify tourism products and attract new categories of visitors.
Nabulsi also said that the initiative also supports efforts to expand hot-air balloon operations in Wadi Rum and establish the area as a hub for balloon tourism, with the aim of developing an annual event that could attract investment and support local economic activity.
Fayez Khleifat, executive director of Balloons Over Rum, said that the event demonstrated the potential of co-operation between the public and private sectors to promote Jordan as a destination for ballooning and aerial adventure tourism.
He said that the event was also expected to benefit the local community by creating more than 70 direct jobs for local residents.
Khleifat said that organisers had also seen strong domestic interest in aerial sports, noting that some Jordanians had previously travelled abroad to participate in such activities.
He added that preparations had begun for an international hot-air balloon festival in co-operation with ASEZA, planned for summer 2027.
The event is supported by the Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission (CARC), the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Jordan Tourism Board and the Royal Film Commission–Jordan.