Tourism boom sends Wadi Rum camp occupancy rates past 80%

AMMAN — The increase in the number of tourists arriving in the Kingdom resulted in Wadi Rum’s camp occupancy rates exceeding 80 per cent, according to a stakeholder.

“The occupancy rate in Wadi Rum camps has soared with the recent tourism boom,” said Saleh Neimat, the Wadi Rum district director. 

Neimat told The Jordan Times that “over 300,000 tourists visited Wadi Rum since the beginning of the current year,” adding that there are ongoing efforts to start new projects to improve services and enhance the development of tourism in the area.

A total of 1.476 million guests visited the Kingdom in the first quarter of 2023, marking a 90.7 per cent increase from the previous year.

“There is a strong demand for the traditional Bedouin camp experiences here in Wadi Rum. We offer our guests a variety of tour packages, activities and meals,” Omar Bedwan, an employee at a family-owned camp in Wadi Rum, told The Jordan Times.

Anticipating further growth in the number of visitors, Bedwan noted that most people visiting Wadi Rum come in groups, and therefore occupy several tents at once.

“Currently the occupancy rate at our camp has surpassed 60 per cent this week,” he said.

According to Ismail Hussein, who co-owns a different camp, “Wadi Rum provides tourists with a budget-friendly desert experience. Prices here range from JD15 to over JD100 per night”.