On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2020. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Malia ↗
In their words
Economically speaking it really affects us. Tourism is our oil, and it's 12 to 14 per cent of our GDP — that's huge to lose.
The destinations who do an outstanding job in their health and hygiene process are going to be the ones with the competitive edge.
I think transparency is key for any destination. You have to be open and transparent and honest — because if you lose that trust, you lose the destination.
Around the web ×2
Quick answers
Who is Malia Asfour?
A Jordanian-American tourism executive who ran the Jordan Tourism Board's North American office for about three decades. Her own speaker bio says she founded the office in 1996 and grew it to US$430 million in North American tourism revenue; she had begun handling Jordanian tourism in Washington in the mid-1990s.
Does that office still exist?
No. Jordan Tourism Board North America closed on 30 November 2025 after more than 30 years. 'It's hard to believe that three decades have passed since I started this little office that could,' Asfour wrote in the closing announcement. Enquiries now go to the board's head office in Amman.
What did she say on the TechTO stage?
In May 2020, with Jordan on its seventh straight day of no new coronavirus cases, she argued that destinations would compete on health and hygiene handled end to end — airport, customs, bus, hotel — that bilateral health agreements between countries were coming, and that transparency was the only workable posture: lose the trust and you lose the destination. Tourism, she said, was 'our oil', worth 12 to 14 per cent of Jordan's GDP.
What is she doing now?
Not established from a dated public source. A WeTravel Academy speaker bio describes her as chair of the Tourism Cares board of directors and a longstanding member of the Adventure Travel Trade Association board, but the page carries no date, so this page records the role she held for three decades rather than a present-day title.