Ethiopia’s Tourism Sector to Grow in the Coming Years

Ethiopia’s tourism sector is expected to show significant growth between the periods of 2014-2018, says a report by Market Research Reports Inc. 

The report provides market analysis, information and insights, including detailed analysis of tourist spending patterns in Ethiopia for various categories in the travel and tourism sector, such as accommodation, sightseeing and entertainment, food service, transportation, retail, travel intermediaries and others and detailed analysis of the airline and hotel markets. The report under the title ‘Travel and Tourism in Ethiopia to 2018’ states that Ethiopia’s tourism sector is still in a growth phase, and is largely supported by infrastructure improvement. It states that the number of domestic trips reached 8.1 million, while international trips reached 666,996 in 2013. The main source countries for the tourist flow are China, the US, Nigeria, Sudan and Belgium.
Among other things, the report says that Ethiopian Airlines will play a very big role in the development of the tourism sector once it establishes new routes, increases flight capacity and launches airfare discounts.

Ethiopian Airlines’ partnership with other airlines to create codeshare agreements has had a positive impact on the flow of tourists into the country. The report states that the airline is urging Ethiopian tour operators and other stakeholders to participate in international tourism expos for further growth of the sector. 

The Ethiopian government has also been working to develop the sector and has created two entities; the Tourism Transformation Council and the Ethiopian Tourism Organization, of which the later will be officially launched on July 1st, 2014.

The Transformation Council and Tourism Organization will work to transform tourism by developing new strategies and programs that will be sustainable and work in coordination with the nation’s development. The Ethiopian Tourism Organization will be launched by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The report states that the Tourism Transformation Council will develop the country’s key tourist destinations and take initiatives to create and implement tourism campaigns. 

“It will also provide instruction to local government bodies to remove political obstructions currently impeding the development of the tourism sector,” it states. 

It also says that Ethiopia is currently trying to attract more tourists from India and has taken the initiative to promote a tourism campaign called “Come, Visit Ethiopia. Ethiopian Airlines is currently operating flights from Delhi and Mumbai, and plans to commence flights from Ahmedabad, Chennai and Bangalore in the future. Through its route expansion work, the airline will also commence daily flights to London from July 2014.

Through the strategies listed under the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), the Ethiopian government plans to transform the country into one of the top five tourist destinations in Africa by 2020.

Source: Capital