From Jordan to Dubai via Budapest: A travel entrepreneur’s journey of starting from ‘zero’

From Jordan to Dubai via Budapest: A travel entrepreneur’s journey of starting from ‘zero’

Starting from 'zero' is familiar to Maen Al Habahbeh. After all, he has done it three times. The entrepreneur in the tourism sector is now the owner of multiple businesses. But this journey wasn’t easy.

In 2002, at the age of 22, Al Habahbeh moved from a quiet, mountainous town in the south of Jordan, 20 metres away from the ancient city of Petra to the European country of Hungary.

At the time, there was barely much he knew about the city he was about to move to, Budapest, but he moved there for better opportunities and to marry his Hungarian wife.

“At that time, [society] was a bit closed and we had more information about western European countries, and not eastern European countries, such as Hungary,” he said.

As soon as he arrived, he had to get a job and get acquainted with the culture and more importantly, the language to survive in the land.

He soon found a job at an airline, where he was needed for his Arabic speaking skills. However, Al Habahbeh was never satisfied working in a nine-to-five job and after almost a decade, he decided it was time to start something of his own. Something where he could be