Thousands of Jordanians spent holiday abroad

By Khetam Malkawi AMMAN - Despite government and private sector efforts to entice Jordanians into spending their Eid vacation in the Kingdom, thousands of citizens still opted for foreign destinations, travel agents said on Sunday. Sharm El Sheikh, Istanbul and Lebanon were the top Eid holiday destinations, they said. “The prices are reasonable and a person can spend three to four nights in Sharm El Sheikh for the same price as one night in Aqaba or at the Dead Sea,” Plaza Tours Director Nasser Riyal told The Jordan Times over the phone yesterday. Riyal added that hotels in Aqaba and at the Dead Sea market themselves to foreign guests rather than locals, which he said prompts Jordanians to avoid local destinations. Amjad Maslamani, owner of Dallas Tours, agreed. “We had good offers during the Eid vacation, especially to Sharm El Sheikh and Lebanon,” Maslamani said, adding that more than 8,000 Jordanians travelled abroad during Eid through his company. Special tours were also organised to Luxor and Aswan, he added. Syria also had its fair share of Jordanian visitors. “Hundreds of vacationers went to Syria this Eid due to the low cost,” Mohammad Najjar, a salesman at Holiday Travel, said yesterday. He added that although tour packages to Syria are inexpensive to begin with, operators lowered prices further during Eid to attract more customers. “Syria was the best choice for a big family like mine,” Omar Ramadan told The Jordan Times, noting that spending one day in Syria was an inexpensive option and made his children feel excited about the Eid vacation. “They wanted to travel during Eid, and this was the only affordable destination,” Ramadan noted. Approximately 963,703 Jordanians visited Syria by land between January and June 2010, compared with 392,236 in the same period of 2009, reports said last month. Ahead of the holiday, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities launched a campaign, “Jordan is beautiful”, to encourage Jordanians to spend their holidays in the country, and spare the economy the millions spent abroad. From Jordan Times