Arab Bridge Maritime Creates New Kind of Tourism in Aqaba

Alanbat- Khaled Fakhideh

Translated by Ahmed Afaneh

Arab Bridge Maritime company has set an example in the development of its services through innovation. The company, which is now run by Jordanian engineer Adnan Al-Abadleh, has introduced a new tourism product or service called Al-Abour (Transit) to Aqaba ever since January 2021.

From the start of 2021 to the present, more than 85,000   Egyptian passengers have been transported from Nuweiba to Aqaba by the Arab Bridge Maritime company. Every one of them stayed for two weeks as part of an entry requirement to Saudi Arabia. It all began when Adnan al-Abadleh, the general manager of the Arab Bridge Maritime , found out  in one of his  business trips to Egypt that Egyptians with employment contracts in Saudi Arabia are having a hard time to be able to meet the condition of staying in a green country- with low cases of Corona virus cases- for 14 days then getting a PCR test with a negative result to enable them to enter Saudi Arabia . The potential outcome of this kind of   tourism on Jordan and Aqaba motivated Abadleh to discuss the matter with the Aqaba Authority and officials in Jordan so that the Arab Bridge Maritime would be allowed to transport them and enable them to stay in Aqaba for 14 days. The Jordanian authority and government have already provided the Arab Bridge Maritime with all facilities to transport Egyptians working in Saudi Arabia to Aqaba, especially after it was declared a Corona free area, which corresponds with Saudi requirements. With this ingenious idea, the Arab Bridge Maritime was able to create a new productive travel route that made up for their losses during the Corona pandemic and revive the Aqaba market touristically and commercially.  Transit tourism has also helped Jordanians get back their jobs in these commercial sectors after they lost them due to total and partial lockdowns imposed by the Corona pandemic.

The Arab Bridge, which is the best example of Arab partnership between Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq, had great financial losses during the Corona pandemic, and was able to get back on its feet again despite the fierce competition in the market. These new competitors benefitted from the Corona pandemic and tried to infringe upon the rights of the Arab Bridge Maritime company documented in the agreements signed between the three countries Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt. The Arab Bridge Maritime Company is a unique business story of crisis management and maritime transport.