Weekend sees summer surge in hotel, villa occupancy rates across Kingdom

AMMAN — Hotel occupancy rates across the Kingdom exceeded 50 per cent over the weekend, according to Vice President of the Jordan Hotels Association (JHA) Hussein Hilalat.

“There is a dynamic increase in the number of people visiting hotels in the different parts of the country,” Hilalat said in a statement sent to The Jordan Times. 

Across the Kingdom, the highest occupancy rates were found in Aqaba at 65 per cent, while average occupancy rate in well-known five-star hotels hovered around 50-70 per cent, Bilal Subhi, an administrative employee at a five-star hotel in Aqaba, told The Jordan Times on Saturday. 

“Tourism in Aqaba is truly seeing a boost due to the low cost flights and the new activities and outdoor fun happening in our area,” he added.

The surge in occupancy rates is typical for the summer season, and the majority of hotels and other accommodation services see more bookings in this period, according to Husam Mansour Manaseer, the owner of a villa renting business near the Dead Sea area.

“Usually couples and smaller families book a hotel room, but larger families who want more privacy rent a villa or farm,” Manaseer told The Jordan Times on Saturday.

“The number of visitors is increasing day by day, and even if it is summertime and people are trying to escape the heat, there are many who are  interested in visiting the desert of Wadi Rum,” Omar Bedwan, an employee at a family-owned camp in Wadi Rum, told The Jordan Times.

He added that the occupancy rate in his camp this weekend increased by around 20-30 per cent compared to weekdays.