jordan pulse -

The southern city of Aqaba is welcoming an increasing number of local visitors and foreign tourists of various nationalities, especially from Europe, in the winter tourist season.

The movement of cruise ships to the ports of Aqaba and flights to King Hussein International Airport is also witnessing a noticeable increase during this season, an official in the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) said Friday.

ASEZA Commissioner For Tourism & Environment, Nidal AL-Majali, told the Jordan News Agency that the ports of Aqaba are expected to receive 8 giant cruise ships carrying about 2,700 tourists each, while King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba has received 18 flights from abroad in since the beginning of December.

The movement of tourism ships and flights to Aqaba is on the rise, reviving the tourist movement in Jordan's southern shore and the Golden Triangle in general, accompanied by an increase in commercial traffic and occupancy rates for hotels, which reached 45 percent for all classifications.

ASEZA, AL-Majali explained, has prepared a marketing program to organize commercial offers during the winter season, to be leveraged by residents and visitors of Aqaba, whether from the governorates or from outside the Kingdom, and details of the program will be announced soon.

The tourism sector in Aqaba rely directly on concerted efforts of many parties, and great and large scale successes in this field can achieved if all stakeholders cooperate by enhancing cooperation across sectors in order to provide a distinctive tourism experience at all stages, AL-Majali concluded.
PETRA