Ethiopia needs to work on diversifying its tourism industry much further to meet the challenges facing the sector. For instance, cross cultural tour exchanges between staff and students of various universities, secondary schools, primary schools and research centers across the world will not only help the country to generate income from the sector but also promote the visibility of the country among international institutes of higher learning thus promoting people to people relations not only with the neighboring countries but also with partner countries around the world. This has multiple advantages of uplifting Ethiopia’s position among the international community of nations and is also instrumental in combating biases and misconceptions being fanned on Ethiopia through mainstream media outlets and the social media.
Producing qualified manpower for promoting tourism is of greater importance for Ethiopia. Universities and colleges in the country need to open departments that are fully capable of producing professionals in managing, promoting and innovatively work on various programs for building the image of the country.
Trainings in cutlery and table management, front office handling in hotels is very important to provide instant services for tourists. This would also help to popularize Ethiopian traditional dishes not only to tourists but also for investors and businesspersons on trip to Ethiopia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs may assign special experts in each of the foreign missions of Ethiopia to work on special priorities in investment and tourism.
The Ministry of Tourism needs to expand and upgrade its services that could include developing a national database for tourism potentials in the country. The current level of marketing and promotion of Tourism Ethiopia is really moving at a slow pace and this need to be improved by working with international and local media companies.
Among other things, mainstreaming Tourism Ethiopia in the national strategies in the context of the most appropriate ministries and commissions is something that needs to be considered not only at the higher level of government structure but also at all levels of state activities.
There are very good indicators that conference tourism can flourish in Ethiopia over several years. Notably, the construction of world class hotels and new parks like Sheger Park, Unity Park, ecotourism resort centers at Gorgora, Wonchi, Koischa, Halala Kela effectively link the efforts in decarbonizing the country and promoting tourism as one of the pillars of the Ten Years Perspective Plan of the country.
The possibility of starting medical tourism in Ethiopia may seem to be an ambitious undertaking in the short run but the country can develop tourism in health and sports sectors over the next decade.
Diversifying the country’s tourist resources may take several years but its necessity is quite obvious.
According to international Conference Alert for 2023-2024, Ethiopia will host a number of international conferences including International Conference on Virtual Tourism and Tourism Technology (ICVTTT) in Gondar on the 8th of January, Conference on Domestic Tourism and Economic Growth (ICDTEG) at Bahir Dar on the 11th of January 2024, Conference on Tourism Sciences and Sustainable Tourism (ICTSST) on the 18th of January in Dessie, Conference on Cultural Tourism and Museum Management (ICCTMM) on the 14th of February in Dire Dawa, Conference on Informatics in Smart Tourism (ICIST) on the 14th of February in Addis Ababa Conference on Cultural and Heritage Tourism (ICCHT) on 15th of February in Addis Ababa.
The above mentioned conferences will provide ample opportunity for Ethiopia to engage in full scale conference tourism and use the occasion for promoting Tourism Ethiopia and further building the image and international stature of the country.
As stated in the beginning of this contribution, apart from producing a vast amount of hydroelectric power for the country and for sale to the neighboring countries, GERD will certainly usher a revolution in the development of tourism industry in Ethiopia. The islands created in the lake to be created by the dam will be lucrative sources of investment in ecotourism accompanied by rowing sports, fishery and recreational travels on the lake. This would create ample opportunities for the youth trained in entertainment and hospitality industries. Tourists from the neighboring countries, Europe, North America, the Middle East, Persian Gulf and ASEAN can enjoy their time in Ethiopia and the country will be able to get the foreign currency it needs for the development of the national economy of the nation.
Moreover, Ethiopia’s membership in BRICS will open up new and expanded opportunities for the country to lure thousands of tourists into the country from BRICS member countries. In order to ensure more benefits from the sector, Ethiopia needs to further digitalize the country’s tourism industry and modernize her tourism infrastructure facilities to an acceptable international standard.
Ethiopia’s tourism has far more opportunities for expanded development but the most important precondition for this is ensuring sustainable peace and stability in the country.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY SOLOMON DIBABA
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2023
