AMMAN - As expected, Aqaba hotels are fully booked for the holidays, with tour operators attributing this to the limited number of rooms in the resort city.
This and other reasons prompt Jordanians to travel elsewhere, mainly Egypt, Lebanon, Cyprus and Syria, they said.
"I send more people to Sharm than to Aqaba," Aqaba-based operations manager for Al Jawad Tours, Abdullah Dmour, told The Jordan Times.
As for the reason, Dmour said it is simple: lower rates. He says he can book a client at the Movenpick Sharm El Sheikh all-inclusive double room for $90 per night and at the Movenpick in Aqaba for around $130 a night, with only bed and breakfast.
"In Sharm, a five-star hotel will offer all you can eat and drink cheaper than the basic bed and breakfast here. And to top this off, the local client actually feels like he went on a vacation since it is outside the country," he said.
The tour operator noted that there are many more activities to offer in Egypt in a more mature market.
"In Sharm you don't even need to go to your hotel because there are so many things to do. When I send customers to Sharm they forget Aqaba, and become repeat clients," he added.
Despite this, Dmour acknowledges that in Aqaba business is good.
There are reasons for the high prices and in his opinion, the main one is lack of enough competition.
"I know that new projects are under way, but now, when you only have around 1,000 hotel rooms compared to tens of thousands elsewhere, then hotels can easily charge higher. I often need to turn business away from Aqaba during eid since there are no rooms left anyway," he said.
The Jordan Times was unable to get accurate numbers of local bookings abroad and Sharm El Sheikh is only being used as a comparative example. Many other tour operators have given similar responses, noting that it is not only Sharm. There are several other hot spot eid getaways such as Cyprus for the local market.
Oscar Tours operations manager, Bahaa Momani, told The Jordan Times that Jordanians love Aqaba, "but if they are on a budget, then it is Sharm of course".
"I tell my clients to go to Sharm instead of Aqaba because it is better for them, and they will find more to do," Momani added.
On a positive note, the tourism industry executive said that despite costs, all clients and especially foreigners voluntarily will tell that Jordanian hospitality and service surpasses anything in the region.
"On daily basis, tourists tell me that our hospitality is number one. Our hotel and tourism services are professional and we make sure that travellers are happy, this must be taken into consideration," he said.
Speaking from Egypt, personal tour guide Hussam Rashwan told The Jordan Times that for top hotels in Sharm El Sheikh, package deal prices will depend on your nationality.
"As an Egyptian, booking a few nights at a hotel will be much more expensive because it is likely a customer will only pay to sleep. Hotels have detailed scales for foreigners," Rashwan said.
He pointed out that a Russian tourist will pay much less for his room since he/she is expected to drink, go to discos and spend more than an Arab.
Unsure of Jordanians, he noted that on average the best hotels will cost around $100-$120 a night. You can book a three-star hotel with breakfast and dinner for around $70, according to the private contractor guide.
As for daily spending aside from hotel accommodation, Rashwan said: "You would need to spend $80-90 maximum a day to load in the activities and eat out... that includes tipping," he added.
Aqaba hotels
Meanwhile, for the eid holiday occupancy rates of the 201 rooms at the four-star Aqaba Gulf Hotel are over 90 per cent booked.
This eid, their double-bed rooms costs JD95 including bed and breakfast, for Jordanians or foreigners.
Hotel reservation manager Wissam Hijazi told The Jordan Times that the high booking rate is not necessarily because of the eid holiday.
"Because of eid we have around 30 per cent of our bookings from the local market, but we under-book international tours during this time because we expect some local business," he said.
Noting that if it were not eid, occupancy rates would still be high and it would just mean that over 90 per cent of the rooms would be booked for foreigners.
As for prices, Hijazi acknowledges that with only two five-star resorts and their four-star hotel, which in total have a capacity of around 800 rooms, there is enough business to go around and from the hoteliers' perspective, the prices are fair.
There are more three-star hotels that are less expensive but not inexpensive.
He pointed out that Aqaba caters to clientele that are mostly coming to dive and enjoy water sport activities so they find what they want and generally do not complain about costs.
In the near future, he does not expect prices to go down and would not be surprised if the room rates went up.
"The year 2008 will be critical new Aqaba hotels will add around 1,000 extra rooms. We are seeing higher numbers of tourists but the number of hotel rooms is also soaring," the reservation manager said. As for the changes, tourism industry workers know that 2008 will be a telling year.
By Linda Hindi
Jordan Times 2007
