AQABA –– The port city of Aqaba was packed with thousands of tourists over the weekend, but unlike previous years, Jordanians constituted the majority of visitors.

People working in the hospitality industry and shopkeepers attributed the decline in foreign tourists to unrest in several Arab countries, but noted that the regional situation prompted many Jordanians to opt for Aqaba as a weekend destination instead of Syria and the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh.

According to tourism sector representatives, the months of March and April were the peak period for the southern port city last year, with visitors coming from various countries, particularly Europe.

Adel Abdul Malik, guest services manager at Sindbad, a company which offers marine transportation, yachting and water sports, told The Jordan Times on Friday that due to regional unrest that kept foreign tourists away from the city, travel agencies have launched packages to attract Jordanians to make up for the losses they suffered due to a weak season.

“During this time of the year, five-star hotels in Aqaba used to be packed with foreigners, but this year things are unfortunately different,” added Abdul Malik, whose company offers recreational services to guests in five-star hotels.

Mustafa Yassin and his friend Nidal Smeirat, who came from Irbid with their families to spend the weekend in Aqaba, said that the mild weather encouraged them to come to the city to enjoy the beach and do some shopping.

“We used to visit Syria, which is around an hour’s drive from Irbid, several times a year, but with the current political unrest in the country, we picked Aqaba,” they told The Jordan Times, while relaxing on the city’s northern beach.

A receptionist at a five-star hotel, who preferred to remain unnamed, told The Jordan Times that the hotel was supposed to be fully booked during the months of March and April, but a high percentage of reservations were cancelled.

Noting that the hotel’s occupancy rate was 100 per cent during the same months last year, she blamed the cancellations to regional unrest, adding that in previous years Aqaba used to be busy seven days a week, but currently it is full of tourists, mainly Jordanians, only on weekends.

But the commercial sector did not seem concerned about the drop in the number of foreign tourists.

“Jordanians come to Aqaba for relaxation and for shopping, something that gives a boost to commercial activity in the city, while foreigners come only for relaxation,” Mohammad Haniyeh remarked.

Many businesses are complaining about a low season, but this is not the case for the commercial sector, noted Haniyeh, who owns an outlet for clothes and shoes.