'30,000 Aqaba visitors expected in cruise ship tourism this year'

AMMAN — Cruise ship tourism to Aqaba is set to see a boom this year with 30,000 visitors from various nationalities expected to arrive, an official at the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) said on Monday. 

ASEZA Commissioner for Economic Development and Investment Affairs Sharhabeel Madi told The Jordan Times over the phone that a group of foreign tourists started to arrive at the port city, some 330km south of Amman, via cruise ships as of last Friday, adding that the group of 500 visitors are seen "as elite vacationers" from Europe. 

Madi said between March and December of this year the total number of tourists is expected to reach 30,000, who will be mainly from Europe.

"Expected visitors will be from Germany and Britain, in addition to tourists from the Gulf region," he added. others groups would stay 48 hours to tour Wadi Rum, some 328km south of Amman, and Petra, 235km south of the capital. 

"There will be special promotional campaigns to promote the port city as a main tourist destination in the region," he noted. 

In February, ASEZA launched a month-long promotional campaign called Aqaba Carnival with discount offers by hotels and transportation firms to attract local holidaymakers to enjoy the warm weather in the Red Sea resort. 

Madi told The Jordan Times previously that between 60,000 to 70,000 tourists visited Aqaba during February, which used to be considered a low season. 

Aqaba Carnival was launched for the second year in a row, with plans to hold it annually, according to the ASEZA official.