The eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations Banki-moon, in his message on World Tourism Day 2015, said, “With more than one billion international tourists now traveling the world each year, tourism has become a powerful and transformative force that is making a genuine difference in the lives of millions of people.
The potential of tourism for sustainable development is considerable. As one of the world’s leading employment sectors, tourism provides important livelihood opportunities, helping to alleviate poverty and drive inclusive development.”
Likewise, cognizant of the huge potential of the sector, Culture and Tourism Ministry of Ethiopia (MoCT) has planned to scale up number of tourists and the earnings that can be gained from it. Recently, the ministry has organized a panel discussion on the activities it has done last year and the plan of this budget year. On the occasion, participants discussed on the plans articulated for the development of culture, art and language and heritage conservation among others.
It was learnt that there is a plan to increase the number of tourists to 1.5 million from the current 500,000. Accordingly, the ministry has planned to collect 5.1 billion dollars. It also envisioned increasing the number of local visitors into 25 million. Last year, the country’s tourist attraction sites were visited by 23 million local visitors.
On the other hand, the country is also working to improve tourist facilitations. Improving hotel standards was among the plan. Thus, the country has evaluated the quality and standards of its hotels. Last July, some 88 hotels have been identified ranking into various standards based on their qualities. Among these, some 83 hotels have been ranked first to fourth stars.
As a result, some 30 hotels are incorporated from Addis Ababa and 12 hotels each in Amhara and Oromia states respectively. The rest of the ranked hotels are from Beninshangul Gumuz, Dire Dawa, Harari, Gambella SNNPs and Tigray states. According to MoCT Minister Dr. Hirut Kassaw, it is a must to improve and expand tourist facilities. Therefore, advancing the hotel industry is crucial to attract more tourists.
To this end, she said that offering better services with trained manpower is important to satisfy the tourist’s interest side by side to the infrastructural facilities. On the other hand, the development of the industry would also help the country to build image among the foreigners. She also expressed that the ministry is committed to conduct continuous monitoring activities to improve the standards of the hotels.
Currently the country is working to develop cultural tourism through creating public mobilization schemes to aware the public about the cultural development and its tourism benefit. Therefore, knowing, developing and keeping the originality of the cultural diversity of the nation will help to promote cultural tourism and ensure the earnings gain from it, according to Dr. Hirut.
As to her, the ministry has finalized preparations to approve the local tourism strategic draft by intended bodies. The draft bill comprised local tourism, introducing cultures and promoting them properly. According to Dr. Hirut, the ministry is endeavoring to play its due role by realizing cultural development in which it can possibly support national development via comprehensive tourism activities.
She said, “The ministry has organized a public mobilization program on promoting local tourism where various intended bodies including representatives of regional states, sector professionals, elders, religious leaders and youths among others were took part.” Hence, efforts are underway to ensure the significance of culture in tourism earnings either via ritual performance or selling artifacts.
According to her, the nation has not been efficiently benefiting from the wide range of its tourism resources. It is possible to collect extra amount of money by creating advanced tourism facilities and organized and strategic tourist service providing schemes. “If we do this properly, the nation can ensure economic growth.”
As to her, visiting tourist attraction sites in the capital, panel discussion, and seedling plantation and blood donation are among the public mobilization programs scheduled to encourage local tourists.In addition to the promotion and service providing it is important to keep the originality and wellbeing of heritages which is the most significant scheme to satisfy tourists. In relation to this, restoration and renovation works on Axum obelisk, Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela and Jimma Aba Jifar Palace will commence soon.
Besides to the rehabilitation works, the ministry is also exerting efforts to realize the inscription of additional heritages in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) list. Consequently, necessary documents were sent to UNESCO to register Dirre Sheik Hussein and Sof Omar Cave as well as Ashenda, girls and young women’s festival as cultural heritage.
More than 2.5 billion US dollars has been obtained from foreign tourists who visited Ethiopia last year. According to the Ministry, over 500,000 tourists visited country’s tourist destinations in the reported period.
Therefore, rehabilitating and conserving tourism sites and promoting the existing and new destinations would help the country to increase the intended number of tourists and the earning from it. In this regard, enhancing integrated works and efficiently using the annual tourism budget is significant. It is remembered that the nation has budgeted over 137 million Birr to operate tourism activities this fiscal year.
The Ethiopian Herald August 27, 2019
BY YOHANES JEMANEH
