Thabet Al-Nabulsi, Commissioner for Tourism and Youth at the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, stated that the average hotel occupancy rate in Aqaba reached 76% during the 2026 International Workers’ Day holiday, reflecting growing tourism activity in the city.
Al-Nabulsi noted that the occupancy rate between April 29 and May 2, 2026, averaged 76% across all hotel categories. Five-star hotels recorded 76%, four-star hotels 77%, and three-star hotels 75%.
He added that the highest occupancy rates were recorded over the weekend, reaching 94% on Thursday and 96% on Friday, while rates stood at 54% on Wednesday and 60% on Saturday, indicating strong demand from visitors and tourists spending the holiday in Aqaba.
Meanwhile, around 13,000 participants joined the “Urdunna Jannah program” (Jordan Is Paradise) program on Thursday, distributed across 60 tourist routes, using 280 buses and tour guides, coinciding with the Labor Day holiday and the weekend.
Ahmad Al-Rifai, spokesperson for the Ministry of Tourism and director of the program, told Al-Mamlaka that 80% of the program’s routes were fully booked, noting that they cover various regions of the Kingdom.
He added that northern governorates and the Golden Triangle—which includes Petra, Wadi Rum, and Aqaba—witnessed increased demand, along with notable interest in newer destinations such as Iraq Al-Amir and Umm ar-Rasas.
He pointed out that other participants were distributed across several tourist destinations, particularly Madaba and Jerash, highlighting the diversity of Jordan’s tourism offerings.
