AMMAN — About 100,000 tourists arrived in Jordan on
low-cost flights in the first five months of the year, according to Abdul
Razzaq Arabiyat, the director general of the Jordan Tourism Board.
اضافة اعلان
He said that Jordanian tourists aboard these flights made up 15 percent of the
total number of visitors.
He said that the
low-cost airlines coming to Jordan operate unscheduled flights from 15
countries, including 14 European nations, as well as regular flights from 25
international airports.
Experts in the
tourism sector said that low-cost airlines play a key role in increasing the
number of sightseers to Jordan and hiking the country’s tourism income. They
agreed that tourists arriving on low-cost flights contributed directly to the
support and revitalization of Jordan’s tourism and economy.
President of the
Jordan Hotel Association Abdel Hakim Al-Hindi said that low-cost travel is “an
essential and important way to increase the number of tourists coming to the
Kingdom and revive the economy in general by increasing tourism income.”
He said that
low-cost airlines such as Ryan Air, EasyJet, and Wizz Air “offer flights at low
prices and incur a lot of fees for basic luxuries, such as the extra luggage or
more legroom, but still attract passengers” over more expensive airlines.
“The increase in
demand for low-cost airlines, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, is the
result of their low prices,” he said.
He said that
“contracting low-cost airlines is part of the announced government plan, which
Jordan Tourism Board is currently working on, to attract 4.5 million tourists
by 2023”.
Hindi said that
“all types of hotel establishments have benefited, especially in the Golden
Triangle area, and the benefit was in varying proportions. ... Small and
medium-sized hotels benefited most — three-star hotels and below.”
The Golden
Triangle comprises Wadi Rum, Aqaba, and Petra.
“Of course, this
had a positive impact on the high occupancy rates in these categories,” he
added.
Sulaiman
Al-Farajat, chairman of Petra Development Tourism Regional Authority, confirmed
that “low-cost flying had a positive impact on increasing tourism income for
the Kingdom.”
He said that the
impact of low-cost flights on the Kingdom’s income from tourism “is clear”,
adding that Jordan’s tourism income has seen a “remarkable increase” as a
result.
Tour guide Daoud
Al-Samaan told
Jordan News that “the presence of low-cost aviation was
necessary to revitalize tourism in Jordan, especially in light of the difficult
conditions and the recession experienced by the tourism sector in light of the
COVID-19 pandemic.”
He pointed out
that “Jordan is a beautiful country characterized by many touristic places that
attract tourists, and what was missing was a real and big advertisement for
this beautiful country in order to be a global destination for tourists from
different countries.”
“We look forward
to attracting more tourists in the coming months and years, and that is why all
those working in the tourism sector should make great efforts to improve
conditions and encourage tourists to always come to Jordan,” he said.
Read more Features
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
