Ethiopia: Tourism Revenue falls short of target during first quarter

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia– Revenue obtained from tourism has fallen by over 7.4 million USD during the first quarter of the current Ethiopian budget year, Ministry of Culture and Tourism said.

The ministry attributed the decline to the recent unrest in some parts of the country.

The revenue obtained in the quarter was reportedly over 872 million USD, that is below the target set for the quarter.    

Ministry Public and International Relations Director, Gezahegne Abate said the ministry is working in collaboration with Ethiopian Tourism Organization, Hotels Owners’ Association, tour operators and Ethiopian embassies based in foreign countries to increase the revenue.

He stated that the ministry is also dispatching up-to-date information about the current situation of the country through various websites so as to help tourists get the right information and refrain from cancelling bookings.

Currently, tourists can travel wherever they want as the government has solved all problems that hinder their movements.

The director also urged the local media to promote tourism by informing both domestic and foreign tourist about the prevailing peace.

By taking the current performance into consideration, the ministry revealed that it has revised the initial annual target to secure 3.4 billion USD to 3 billion USD.

Ethiopia is among the best 10 countries recommended to be visited in 2017 by Lonely Planet, the world’s most successful travel publisher that prints over 120 million books in eleven different languages.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency