Hotel occupancy rates decline amid heatwave — JHA

AMMAN — Hotel occupancy rates witnessed a slump as the Kingdom is still reeling from a days-long heatwave that began last week, according to the Jordan Hotels Association (JHA).

According to the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD), the heatwave is expected to taper off starting Sunday. 

Hotel occupancy rates in Amman stood at 46 per cent last week, witnessing a 3 per cent drop compared with the week before, according to JHA President Abdul Hakeem Hindi.  

He attributed the drop in reservations to the heat.

Last Sunday, temperatures rose to record 7 to 8°C higher than their normal rates, according to the JMD. Temperatures in Amman ranged between a high of 40°C during the day and a low of 25°C at night.

Hotels in the Dead Sea area witnessed a footfall of 61 per cent, registering a drop of 18 per cent compared with the week before, Hindi told The Jordan Times.

In the tourist hub of Petra, hotel occupancy rates stood at 35 per cent last week, while five-star hotels in the port city of Aqaba recorded occupancy rates between 80 and 85 per cent, according to Hindi.

The hotel and tourism sector has witnessed significant momentum this season due to festivals, celebrations, conferences and other tourist activities, Hindi said.

In the first seven months of this year, tourist arrivals to Jordan increased by 220.4 per cent, reaching over 2.5 million visitors, compared with the same period of 2021, according to figures from the Tourism Ministry.

The number of tourists “exceeded the expected rates” projected in the 2021-2025 national tourism strategy, which predicted 1.88 million tourists, according to the ministry.