Aqaba hoteliers count losses as hotel rooms lay vacant

AMMAN — More than 400 hotel rooms in four- and three-star hotels in Aqaba have been lying empty, with hotel reservations dropping to less than 25 per cent of the hotel capacities, according to sector representatives.

“Normally, we would be 90 per cent booked this time of year. Our guests are mostly foreign tourists disembarking from cruises that dock in the bay,” said President of the Aqaba Hotels Association Salah Bitar.

Last year, Aqaba witnessed its best tourist season in years, with more than 1.5 million tourists visiting the city and occupying all classifications of its hotels by more than 90 per cent, according to data released by the Aqaba tourism department.

 This year, however, Aqaba’s 5,200 hotel rooms are left almost unoccupied at all, as border closures, restricted travel and fear of the coronavirus paralysed the tourism sector.

“In a year in which domestic tourism has soared, the Friday lockdown has caused yet another setback. With more than two months lockdown at the beginning of the year, almost no foreign tourists came during the summer,” said Bitar.

The association’s president noted that the sector has “suffered heavily, and it is impossible to recover from, losses as a result of the precautionary measures taken by the government, most notably the previous total lockdown and the Friday lockdown”.

“Budget hotels are hit the worst, because if people want to treat themselves to a trip, they will most likely book a five-star hotel, as those who can afford vacations are most likely not too affected by the pandemic’s economic repercussions,” he said.

Sanad Mahdi, who owns a three-star hotel, said in a phone interview with The Jordan Times that their guests, in previous years, were “families of low or average income, who had been saving for a couple of months to come down here”.

 “I think the reason why four-star hotels or less are suffering, is that average segment families do not have excess money to take vacation,” he added.

“A number of hotels of different classifications have closed their doors because they are unable to pay their operational expenses. The 400 rooms are only three- and four-star rooms, but many more will close down soon,” Mahdi noted.