Eid holiday fuels air travel boom to pre-pandemic levels

AMMAN —  The demand for travel has increased during the Eid Al Fitr holiday as the tourism sector is back on track, according to travel agents. 

Thousands of people are expected to fly out of Amman from April 29 onwards as the public sector is expected to take a long holiday.

For Jordan’s public sector, the vacation extends for nine consecutive days at the end of this month. 

Friday, April 29 and Saturday April 30 are official weekend days, while Sunday, May 1 is a public holiday to mark Labour Day.

It is expected that Monday, May 2 will mark the first day of Eid Al Fitr, meaning that the Eid holiday will extend for three consecutive days up until Wednesday, May 4.

If the government decides to close official institutions on Thursday, May 5, the holiday will be extended until Saturday, May 7, totalling nine days off.

“Many Jordanians did not travel abroad the past two summers due to COVID-19,” Haleemah Subhi, an Amman based travel agent, told The Jordan Times. 

Subhi added that the most popular destinations for Jordanians are Istanbul, Antalya and Sharm Al Sheikh.

“Demand this year to popular Eid destinations is clearly higher compared to the same Eid period last year,” Subhi added. 

Subhi stated that the agency she works at is expecting a further surge in bookings if a nine-day holiday is announced. 

“Eid vacation packages are very important for our company”, Mohammad, a travel agent, told The Jordan Times. 

 “Jordanians are excited to travel considering their inability to travel for long periods in the past due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mohammad stated.

According to Mohammad, the number of travellers from Amman during the upcoming Eid holidays is expected to also increase. 

Mohammad added that the destinations that have a large turnout of travellers during this year’s Eid holiday compared to others are the same. 

“Turkey is still at the forefront in this regard and witnesses the highest demand, followed by destinations such as Egypt, Georgia and Trabzon,” Mohammad added. 

According to Mohammad, Cyprus is witnessing growing demand due to the ease in obtaining a visa compared to other European countries, which require booking an appointment to obtain a visa. Airfares and hotel rates have increased recently, with bookings much better than the past two years. 

“We have almost reached pre-COVID stage,” Mohammad added.