As part of its 2025 agenda, Ethiopia has planned to become one of Africa’s top tourist destinations. However, it has various challenges which faced to realize the intended goal due to several reasons.
Fitsum Kassa, Public Relation and Communication Director at Tourism Ethiopia told The Ethiopian Herald that, the main aim of his sector is doing operation, promotion, marketing, and creating comfortable area to tourist destinations.
However, Ethiopia has been challenging to protect tourist destinations in a sustainable manner through various reasons. According to Fitsum, lack of mechanism to benefit the society from tourists’ destinations, awareness creation and limitation of sectors integration are other serious challenges, which trouble to protect the destination from different harmful actions on the destinations sectors.
Particularly, the existence of law integration among stakeholders has taken a lion’s share which hinder to the conservation of tourist destinations across the country.
It needs to give special attention to tourist destination, give ownership right to the community, and reduce deforestation for sustainable conservation of tourist destinations, while stakeholders should create strong relation in order to realize the intended goal in Ethiopia, Fitsum added.
Melkamu Adam, Tourism Development Director with the Amhara State says on his part said that, since the destination areas are seen as our big cities, they should be attractive and comfortable for tourists.
Indeed, the country in general owns many amazing heritages. But it does not mean that the destination has adequate preservation from different factors weather human or natural. In this regard, lack of awareness creation on society, no adequate benefit from the destination, limitation of Media which works on tourist destination, and damage of the roads in tourist destination areas are serious problems which impede to preserve the destination in a consistent manner.
Currently, the region is taking various actions to protect the destinations and ensure community’s advantage. Among the activities, awareness creation to the society, protecting the heritages like Gonder Fasilides Castles, Lalibela Rock-hewn churches, religious institutions which has heritages and history among others are taken a lion’s share.
To maximize the benefit of the local society from the destinations, the state administration organizes the youth and creates job opportunity to them. Following this, the youth gained rewards from the region through protecting the destination from damages. This also is playing dual significant role for reducing unemployment rate in the region and earning income for them, Melkamu added.
He further stated that, benefitting the local society and development of tourism could not stand separately from each other. In general, to protect tourist destinations in a consistent manner, each person should be playing indispensable role, it is rather protecting destinations is the task of one sector.
Getent Yigezaw, Communication Affairs Director at Ethiopian Wild life Conservation Authority agrees that no adequate preservation persists in the country due to many reasons.
According to Getent, due to lack of awareness creation to the society, deforestation, and overgrazing as well as illegal hunting were posed against some tourist destinations in Ethiopia. In addition to this, transmission of rabies from dog to other animals in the destination, unbalanced expansion of investments like sugar factories had also challenged efforts to protect sustainable conservation of tourist destinations.
Vaccination, monitoring the destination, awareness creation to the society are serious measures taken by the Authority during the past one year. In this regard, close to 12 societies forum discussed in different social groups in order to create common understanding about tourist destination and its environmental significance.
In addition to this, the Authority has formed technical committee from different sectors, which aims to protect animals from illegal hunting through creating strong community. The action was instrumental in reducing Elephant poaching from the past especially in Babbillie area, where 11 elephants were illegally killed annually.
Fanta Beyene, Public and International Relation Director at Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH) on his part said that, among the various activities of the Authority, carrying of exploration and registration as well as conservation of heritages is a serious task to preserve the heritages for long with their historical values.
Since heritages need due care, especially maintaining is operated, the Authority has attempted to use research and skilled work force through consultation with experienced countries like Italy and France. Among the heritages that are face risk of damage, Axum obelisk and Lalibela Rock-Hewn Church are mentioned, While Italy and France are ready to support Ethiopia through maintaining the historical heritages respectively.
However, the Ethiopia has not adequately preserved the heritages due to limitation of budget allocation and lack of skilled work forces still now.
In this regard, ‘’Management file’’ also prepared by Federal level recently which helps to how to protect tourist destinations and the procedure that how to maintaining the heritages with including pre-preservation for a sustainable manner in Ethiopia, Fanta added.
The Ethiopian Herald June 22/2019
BY MESERET BEHAILU
