Inbound, outbound tourism to see spikes during Eid Al Adha — travel agents

AMMAN — Almost 25,000 Jordanians have booked their flights and are planning to travel out of the country during Eid Al Adha, according to tourism sector representatives. 

Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh announced the public holiday, which extends from Friday, July 8 to Tuesday, July 12.

“The numbers of outbound reservation packages are satisfying,” Bassem Ghalayene, secretary general at Jordan Society of Tourism Agents, told The Jordan Times. 

Ghalayene said that the sector is witnessing a ‘‘huge’’ demand for travel packages and that reservations are still taking place, but added that Tawjihi, the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination, is “somehow slowing down the demand”.

He noted that the long visa acquiring process is not helping Jordanians diversify their destinations. 

“Egypt and Turkey remained the favoured destinations for those who chose to travel,” Ghalayene said. 

Lara Majali, a travel agency owner, stated that Jordanians’ travel patterns have changed “big time”.

“I think that Jordanians are willing to spend more on travel nowadays,” Majali said. 

She added that social media and the availability of low-cost carriers in addition to budget accommodation are factors encouraging Jordanians to travel and explore the world. 

On the other hand, inbound tourism is expected to witness ‘‘good movement’’ during the holiday, a source from the hospitality industry told The Jordan Times. 

Many hotel reservation officers in the Dead Sea and Aqaba areas contacted by The Jordan Times said that demand is continuously growing. 

“Jordanians are asking for travel packages,” Issa Qandalaft, a reservation officer at a hotel in Aqaba, told The Jordan Times. 

Qandalaft added that the number of travellers from Amman during the holiday is expected to increase.