Jordanian hotels savour occupancy boom

The Eid Al Fitr holiday was as a boost for the hospitality sector in Jordan, according to industry officials, with some hotels boasting 100% occupancy.

Figures released by Jordan Hotels Association (JHA), showed occupancy rate of hotels in Aqaba reached 85% to 95%, compared to an average of 30% during the holy month of Ramadan.

“This high average is expected to continue for the next two days,” JHA General Manager Yasar Majali told The Jordan Times.

The Radisson SAS Hotel in Aqaba reported a 90% occupancy rate last week, with Jordanians constituting the majority of guests, according to the hotel’s reservations agent, Zaynoun Sunnaa.

“Jordanians took advantage of the extended holiday and the special offers in Eid,” Sunnaa told the national paper, adding that the Eid occupancy was a “tremendous jump” from Ramadan, when it stood at 30%.

Meanwhile, the Aqaba Gulf Hotel reported a 100% occupancy rate.

“This holiday was different from previous Eid holidays; the occupancy rate was the highest ever,” said Hisham Abdullah, reservation manager at the Gulf Hotel.

The higher-than-average occupancy was most likely due to the long holiday and nice weather, he said, attracting more Jordanians and Arabs from neighbouring countries.

“The average rate is 60 to 70%. Even in Ramadan we had good occupancy rates and the majority of them were foreign tourists,” Abdullah noted.

Petra’s five- and four-star hotels noted 90-100% occupancy rates during Eid, primarily non-Jordanian guests, compared to 45 to 50% during Ramadan.

Three-star hotels reported a 50 to 60% occupancy rate, according to JHA.