Aqaba carnival aims to lure tourists during ‘dead season’

AMMAN — The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) has launched a winter promotional campaign to lure Jordanians to the warm seaside city. 

ASEZA Commissioner for Economic Development and Investment Affairs Sharhabeel Madi told The Jordan Times Thursday that the month-long Aqaba Carnival, launched for the second year, seeks to increase the number of visitors by encouraging local tourists to make the southern city their getaway from the cold weather. 

He indicated that three-, four- and five-star hotels and land and air transport companies are offering discount prices that have so far tempted hundreds of vacationers. 

“Our transportation partners are recording increasing reservations to head to the city in February,” Madi added, adding that the campaign is also targeting Arab Israeli, Lebanese and Saudi Arabian tourists.

The official said the winter campaign is expected to raise hotel occupancy rates in Aqaba, some 330km south of Amman, in the coming month, which he described as a dead season in terms of the number of tourists. 

ASEZA has launched a promotional campaign through newspaper advertisements and through digital media, he added.

“This festival is part of crisis management efforts for the tourism sector, as the number of tourists usually drops sharply at this time of the year,” the commissioner said, while in spring, tourism typically flourishes due to demand from visitors from Scandinavian and European countries seeking warm weather. 

Madi said several five-star hotels slashed their prices by more than 50 per cent as part of their cooperation with ASEZA, noting for example that the price of a room at a prestigious hotel would fall from JD200 a night to around JD175 for three nights, including transport by air. 

The tag line of the Aqaba Carnival, which runs from January 31 until February 29, is the same as last year: “Come to warm weather.”