Jordanians flock to Middle East destinations for Eid
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Jordanians opted for Middle East destinations to spend their Eid break, according to the Kingdom’s travel agents.
Despite government and private sector efforts to keep nationals at home during the holiday, many flocked to popular resorts and cities such as Sharm El Sheikh, Istanbul and Lebanon.
“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.
Riyal said hotels in Aqaba and at the Dead Sea were popular with foreign tourists, encouraging Jordanians to avoid such destinations.
Amjad Maslamani, owner of Dallas Tours, said more than 8,000 Jordanians travelled abroad during Eid through his company and that special tours were organised to Luxor and Aswan.
Mohammad Najjar, a salesman at Holiday Travel, added: “Hundreds of vacationers [also] went to Syria this Eid due to the low cost [of the destination].”
He added that although tour packages to Syria are inexpensive to begin with, operators lowered prices further during Eid to attract more customers.
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.
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