Khaberni - Workers in the tourist car rental sector confirmed that the vehicle occupancy rate has reached 45% since the beginning of the year 2026.
They indicated that the booking rate has improved recently due to the influx of foreign tourists who have returned to visit Jordan, according to Al-Ghad.
Workers in the tourist car rental sector pointed to the continuing issue of "intruders" in the sector from owners of private cars "white plates" who rent their personal vehicles illegally to conduct this business, which has affected the decrease in demand for licensed tourist cars.
Marwan Akouba, the head of the Tourist Car Rental Offices Syndicate, said, "The occupancy rate has reached about 45% during the current period coinciding with the holiday season and New Year’s Eve."
Akouba confirmed that the demand for tourist cars began to improve especially from foreign tourists since the beginning of last month, making the occupancy rates reach 45% during the current period.
He emphasized the importance of working on a comprehensive tourist program, similar to neighboring countries, known as (Jordan Through the Eyes of the World), which is a program with the participation of the tourism sectors and combines both the public and private sectors, offering the foreign tourist accommodation, travel, and food at competitive and encouraging prices, which reflects on stimulating the economic wheel in Jordan.
Akouba mentioned that the tourist car rental sector needs support and stimulation, as the number of vehicles has dropped by between 10,000 and 11,000 cars.
He pointed out that about 1,600 cars went out of service due to the end of their operational life from the cars manufactured in the year 2019 after a service life of 7 years.
Akouba called on all relevant authorities to work on concluding the file of intruders on the sector and to protect it from private cars "white plates" and to address it, especially since it competes with the sector in an illegitimate competition and increases the burdens of the sector causing damage amidst the high operating costs that the sector pays.
He also called for the relevant authorities to provide support and incentives to the tourism sector and work on reducing fees and taxes in addition to customs duties so that they reflect on reducing the volume of operational costs and consequently reducing them on the customer. This step will enhance the position of the tourism sector and attract tourists from various countries around the world in the presence of a diverse tourist environment in the Kingdom.
Khaled Al-Ahmadi, director of one of the offices specialized in tourist car rental, said, "The occupancy rate ranges from 40 to 45% since the end of last month, December, until today."
Al-Ahmadi confirmed that the demand for renting tourist cars was primarily from foreign tourists, in addition to Jordanian citizens, especially during the holiday season and New Year.
He estimated that the occupancy rates would remain within these percentages until the first quarter of the current year, which is an acceptable rate and an indicator of the beginning of the recovery of the tourism sector.
Al-Ahmadi noted that the demand of the citizens for hybrid (hybrid) gasoline and electric cars, in addition to electric cars, is noticeable in light of the high costs of fuel in the kingdom.
He urged the relevant authorities to confront the phenomenon of "white plates" that are harming the tourism sector and has become a burden on the licensed tourist cars.
The director of the tourist car rental office, Mohammed Anwar, agreed with his predecessors about the occupancy rate reaching 45%.
Anwar said, "The return of inbound tourism in noticeable numbers during the past period of the year 2025 was notable and reflected in the increase in occupancy rates."
The number of international tourists coming to Jordan during the first 11 months of the last year increased by 15% compared to the same period from the previous year. According to data from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the number of visitors arriving to Jordan reached 6.475 million visitors, compared to 5.647 million visitors during the same period of the previous year.
The number of overnight tourists coming to Jordan during the first 11 months of the last year increased by 11% to reach 5.360 million overnight tourists compared with 4.826 million overnight tourists during the same period of the previous year. Anwar complained about the continuing crisis of the phenomenon of renting "white plates" that increases the burdens of the tourist car rental sector.
It is noted that there are about 220 electric cars for rent and more than 4,000 hybrid cars.
It is estimated that the number of registered tourist car rental offices in the syndicate is about 201 tourist offices until the end of the last year, spread across the various governorates of the kingdom.
