AMMAN —
Twelve cruise ships carrying 12,000 tourists docked in Aqaba in the course of
the first two months of this year, according to Aqaba Special Economic Zone
Authority (ASEZA) Chief Commissioner Nayef Bakheet.
اضافة اعلان
Bakheet told
Jordan News on Monday
that the tourists included one-day and overnight visitors, adding that during
the first three months of 2020, 27,000 tourists had visited this port city
before tourism stopped because of restrictions on travel to combat the spread
of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, 150,000 tourists visited the Red
Sea port city some 350km south of Amman during 2019, according to Bakheet.
ASEZA Deputy Chief Commissioner Sharhabeel
Madi told
Jordan News that the number of tourists has increased this
year and the trend is expected to continue, especially in April, which is high
season.
Hotel occupancy also recorded an increase
this year, having reached 50 percent, compared to 25–30 percent last year, said
Madi.
Tourism, he said, is picking up due to the
government’s decision to lift restrictions related to the pandemic, such the
requirement of pre-arrival PCR tests.
He added that Aqaba currently receives one
cruise liner per week.
Several low-cost airlines have resumed
flights to King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba, including Wizz Air,
Easy Jet, and Ryanair, said Madi, noting that the Turkish Airlines is scheduled
to resume flights on March 28 with three flights a week.
Bakheet said that Aqaba has 5,800 hotel
rooms, with 800 rooms under construction. He added that ASEZA is currently
working on the development of a classification system for apartment hotels and
furnished apartments to control the quality of services in this sector.
Aqaba, located at the northern tip of the Red
Sea, is the only sea port in Jordan. Usually tourists visit Aqaba as part of a
larger tour to Jordan’s “Golden Triangle”, made up of Aqaba, Petra, and Wadi
Rum.
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