Aqaba receives 86,000 tourists in January

AMMAN — The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) on Tuesday announced that the gulf city received a "record" 86,000 local and foreign tourists during January.

ASEZA Deputy Chairman and Commissioner for Economic Development and Tourism Hamza Haj Hassan on Tuesday said that this number reflects ASEZA's "strategic" plan in the tourism sector, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He said that the number of tourists in January marked an increase of nearly 103 per cent at a two-night stay rate, where the number of Jordanians reached 48,000 visitors, accounting for 55 per cent, and 38,000 foreign tourists.

The percentage of hotel reservations during the same month was nearly 50 per cent, recording an increase of 84 per cent, and the highest percentage was for 4-star hotels.

He added that the tourist port of Aqaba received two tourist ships carrying 3,000 tourists, while Wadi Rum received 12,000 tourists during January, stressing that the authority seeks to increase these numbers through tourism plans and programmes.

Hajj Hassan pointed out that these figures came as a result of the programmes and activities implemented by ASEZA within its strategic plan, the most important of which is the launch of the Aqaba Carnival for Tourism and Shopping and the Aqaba Waves Festival.

He added that such activities contributed to activating local and foreign tourism movement despite the difficult regional conditions.

In light of halting 23 charter routes to Aqaba, the ASEZA seeks to find new tourist markets, mainly Saudi Arabia, whose tourists to Aqaba increased by 55 per cent in January, he added.