Official figures released by Jordan's Baptism Site Commission (BSC) show that some 73,000 tourists visited Bethany Beyond the Jordan between January and May, a 28% increase from the same period in 2009, when 55,000 visitors came to the site, Jordan Times has reported. Approximately 18,000 tourists visited the site last month, a 29% growth compared to May 2009, when the figure stood at 13,000, the BSC figures revealed. The number of visitors to the Baptism Site has increased by around 25% annually since 2002, according to BSC director Dia Madani.