Seleshi Adane
This month a big news surfaced on the international media…..
Ethiopia was designated as the World Finest supreme Tourist Destination for 2015 and as the Favorite Cultural Destination in 2015 by European Council on Tourism and Trade (ECTT). Also, Prime Minister Hailemariam was also chosen as World Leader of Tourism and as member of European Tourism Academy. The titles were presented to Prime Minister Hailemariam Ethiopia, on July 9, at the National Palace.
Ethiopia was selected by the unanimous vote of the representatives of 28 countries on the General Assembly of the European Council on Tourism and Trade (ECTT). The representatives evaluated the list of 31 candidate countries for World Best Tourist Destination for 2015 award before choosing Ethiopia to be the winner.
The award is the highest honor to be awarded for a country for achievements in tourism. The award is offered to countries that are complying with United Nations Tourism Division, UNESCO and ECTT principles on fair tourism, ethical tourism and safety standards and historic preservation of cultural sites. South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Trinidad and Tobago, Laos and Zimbabwe were the last five winners since 2010.
The impact of the award is massive as the 2014 award winner, Zimbabwe, which become the most sought after destination and the number one country in Africa, in term of tourism growth for last year. Laos, winner of the 2013 award also crossed the 3 million-tourist benchmark, surpassing all the countries in the region.
In his address presenting the report for the 2015 designation for Ethiopia, Professor Dr. Anton Caragea, ECTT President, has stated the reasons for the selection of Ethiopia as follows:
Today, the Government of Ethiopia is recognizing the importance of tourism as a key facilitator for the country development and international promotion, creating exemplary structures like Tourism Transformation Council, investing in infrastructure and capacity building, creating a special team under Your Excellency leadership for destination promotion and management and protecting the cultural, natural and historical patrimony of the country.
In his report, the president of the council detailed the major reasons for the selection of Ethiopia:
The excellent preservation of humanity landmarks such as: ruins of the city of Aksum- the heart of ancient Ethiopia, FasilGhebbi- the residence of the Ethiopian emperors during the 16th and 17th century, HararJugol- 82 mosques, 102 shrines, and unique interior design in the townhouses, Lalibela- holy site encompassing eleven medieval stone carved churches from the 13th century, Konso Cultural Landscape (containing 55 kilometers of stonewalled terraces and fortified settlements), Lower Valley of the Awash-where humanity made his first steps and where was found the Eva of all mankind-Lucy fossil’s, Lower Valley of the Omo also containing fragments pertaining to early humanity development and the fossils of Homo Gracilis.All this sites where recognized as being of world significance and registered as UNESCO World heritage monuments.
New prominent landmarks are added such as: Sheik Hussein Religious, Cultural and Historical Site, MelkaKunture- Paleolithic site in the upper Awash Valley, Gedeo Cultural and Natural Landscape, Bale Mountains National Park, Sof Omar Cave- the longest cave in Ethiopia at 15.1 kilometres long; and the longest system of caves in Africa-sacred for Islam and for local Oromo population.
The ambitious plan drafted by the Government of Ethiopia under the name of Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). Tourism as a tool for poverty eradication, for local community development and for economic independence is a successful strategy carved by H.E. Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
Community based, social oriented tourism, promoted by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, is a perfect way of sharing revenue, growing income and supporting marginal and rural communities development. The way in which social-tourism has become the base for local economic development, providing benefits to communities, makes social-friendly tourism, the lesson that today-the Republic of Ethiopia is offering to the world.
Giving tourists access to outstanding and pristine nature and the opportunity to explore nature, to contribute to ecological preservation, and the opportunity to visit extraordinary places. All these regions and national parks, are a model of achieving ecological and green tourism that must be recognized throughout the world.
The ongoing development and protection of cultural, religious and historical shrines of the Republic of Ethiopia, the transformation of Lalibela into a historical and spiritual centre, offering to the visitors a glimpse into rich culture and heritage of peoples of Ethiopia.
Lalibela is the land of faith and miracles that must be presented to the world as a center of religious and faith significance equal to Jerusalem only in the world. Lalibela must be the center of religious pilgrimage and cultural tourism offering to world tourists the complex healing experience of cultural legacy, religious special atmosphere and faith imbued air.
The preservation of outstanding historical and cultural heritage in the form of the former capital of the Kingdom of Ethiopia, the Gondar cultural complex, an ample palatial complex from the 13th Century, offering a pungent presence of one of the African greatest empire. Today, Gondar castle complex offers tourists bound for Ethiopia an open air museum with a rare collection of historical and archaeological treasures that educate and enrich the world.
A perfect center for safari and adventure tourism, offering large areas suitable for this special kind of tourism, and the necessary infrastructure to welcome the adventure seeker, its safety and peace, makes the country, one of the world’s top adventure destinations.
Keeping alive community blending traditions, allows tourists and visitors to be part of the Ethiopia unique people’s ethnic fabric, which offers the possibility for an enriching cultural experience, are all achievements that make the Republic Of Ethiopia a perfect cultural class destination.
The international media gave the news a wide coverage.
CNN has reported:
You would be forgiven for thinking it was Spain, Thailand or Italy. But this year the accolade of World Best Tourism Destination has been given to a surprising candidate: Ethiopia.
The country has been praised for its outstanding natural beauty, dramatic landscapes and ancient culture, leading the European Council on Tourism and Trade to select it out of 31 countries as this year’s top holiday spot.
Visitor numbers in the country have increased by 10% over the last decade, according to the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Last year, more than 600,000 tourists visited Ethiopia, attracted by its fertile national parks, 3,000 year-old archeological history and nine UNESCO world heritage sites.
Tourism contributed an estimated 4.5% to the country’s GDP last year, generating nearly a million jobs and over two billion dollars in revenue, according to the World Bank.
Mail Online applauded:
It’s time to brush up on your Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia, because the African nation has been named as the World’s Best Tourism Destination for 2015.
It was given the award by the the European Council on Tourism and Trade, who praised its outstanding natural beauty, dramatic landscapes and ancient culture.
Thirty-one countries were considered for the illustrious award this year, with Ethiopia coming top of the pile.
While that was good news for all Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia, it was not entirely an unpredicted development. Rather an outcome and a confirmation of the two decades long works, as observe in the rigorous effort and dramatic changes of the last 24 years.
Since 1991, the Government of Ethiopia worked to remove constraints relating to visa and customs regulations, with a view to facilitate growth in Ethiopia’s tourism, in addition to tax and customs incentives to encourage investments in hotel and tour services. The Government has embarked on a number of measures to preserve and develop tourist sites throughout the country and to increase revenue earnings from the tourist sector.
As researches indicate, it was only in mid-1960s that tourism was taken as a potential area of economic growth. However, following the ascendance of the Dergue regime to power, the sector declined.
From 1974 for two decades the Ethiopian tourism industry suffered from the adverse effects of a prolonged civil war, recurrent drought and famine, strained government relations with tourist generating countries, and restrictions on entry and free movement of tourists during the military government from 1974 to 1991. During this period, apart from periodic upgrades of the infrastructure (such as airports and roads), there has been little investment and successive governments have largely overlooked the sector.
The sector, in general, the cultural and natural attractions, and human resources that form the basis of the tourism product, in particular, have been completely neglected. Linkages to international tourism networks, both for marketing and research purposes, have also been neglected. Lack of coordination between stakeholders and the government resulted in poor infrastructure development and under developed tourist sites as well as a shortage of skilled workers in the sector. Generally, there was lack of marketing and promotional strategy as well as low awareness of tourism by local communities. In addition, the limited share of tourism earnings reaching the local community is affecting the sustainability of the sector and is having a negative impact on the contribution of tourism towards poverty alleviation.
During the seventeen years that the Derg was in power, tourism declined drastically because of the adverse conditions created by war, recurrent draught, strained political and diplomatic relations with tourist generating countries, restrictions in entry into and travel within the country. In the years 1989 to 1992, records show that the country received on average 80,246 tourists and 23.2 million U.S. dollars annually. The average annual growth rates during those years were 2.1 percent for arrivals and 6.1 percent for receipts.
The basic measures taken after Year 1991 in order to realize the country’s economic and social development have created favorable conditions for the nation’s tourism development as well. Because the government believed that tourism has the power and capacity to assist in the effort to eliminate poverty and accelerate development sustainably, tourism has been included as one of the means of implementing the country’s plan for accelerated and sustainable development to end poverty.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) data, Ethiopia registered an average annual growth in international tourist arrivals of 5.6 percent for the period 1990-2000, and 15.4 percent during the period 2000-2005.
The sector further expanded, the second half of the last decade with the implementation of the PASDEP (The Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to end Poverty), from 2005 to -2010, and the consecutive double-digit growth.
In the four years from 2005 to 2008, average annual tourist arrivals were 324,664, while average annual revenue was 167 million dollars. Reports of the sector show annual growth rates of 21 percent for tourist arrivals and 19.5 percent for revenue for those four consecutive years.
However, in 2010, while Sub-Saharan Africa’s tourism market share is only 3.2 percent of global international arrivals, Ethiopia’s share within Africa’s share is a minuscule 1 percent, with close competitors such as Kenya and Tanzania claiming 4 percent and 2 percent of the same share respectively. By contrast, South Africa has a 32 percent share. Despite this minimal market share, nonetheless, the annual average growth rate of tourism arrivals to Ethiopia was higher than Sub-Saharan Africa’s average.
Therefore, the Government of Ethiopia (GOE) prioritized tourism development in its Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) and tourism policy to optimize the existing tourism resources as a driving force of economic growth for the whole country.
In light of all these, the government planned to make Ethiopia one of the top ten tourist destinations in Africa by the year 2020 with an emphasis on maximizing the poverty reducing impacts of tourism and to change the international image and positioning of the country. The sector should be planned in a comprehensive way to foster the contribution of tourism on the general economic development of the country. The Tourism Commission was upgraded to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MoCT) in 2005. MoCT has, at the same time, the responsibility for cultural issues, which were taken care of by the Ministry of Youth and Sports previously.
Two new entities, the Tourism Transformation Council and the Ethiopian Tourism Organization, have been launched with the objective of transforming the industry and based on the necessity to coordinate the activities of various stakeholders in the industry. In particular, the Tourism Transformation Council, was established with the mandate to raise the standards of the industry to a higher level. The Council is drawn from members of various institutions as well as prominent personalities. In addition, tourist infrastructures in various national parks are being upgraded and renovation work on roads linking the parks with major roads and lodges is being carried out. Other measures include the protection of animals from illegal hunting in sanctuaries and parks, as well as the conservation of heritage sites. In a bid to satisfy international standards, as well as provide world-class services for leisure and travelers, Ethiopia is investing in the modernization and expansion of major infrastructures.
As a result, the stock of hotels in Ethiopia has increased sharply over the last few years. While tourist accommodation is available as the major attraction, improvement as well as new construction is taking place.
Overall, the sector have seen major progress, under the PASDEP, the GTP, and the three main national policies of the sector: the Cultural Policy (1995), the Wildlife Development Conservation and Utilization Policy and Strategy (2004), and the Tourism Development Policy, adopted by the Council of Ministers in August 2009.
The Inbound Tourist Arrivals in Ethiopia continued to grow from 76,844 in 1989, to 115,000 in 1999, 184,078 in 2004, 427,286 in 2009 and reaching 523,438 in 2011. The total number of hotel rooms and beds of all hotel establishments in Ethiopia was 19,025 and 24,083, respectively in 2011. A total of 37 investors have taken investment permit in Addis Ababa alone to construct hotels with star ratings in 2012/13.
Recent data show that the sector’s progress under the GTP. In 2012, 52.3 million tourists visited Africa, out of which only 596,341 reached Ethiopia. In the first half of this Ethiopian budget year, 2013-2014, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism reported that the number of tourists showed an increase of 36% over the same period of the previous year.
The achievements of the sector are multifaceted. Ethiopia tourism sector is becoming an important player both at home and abroad.
Domestically, the sector have created 783,638 jobs over the last four years of the GTP period achieving more than 90% of the plan. As the Ministry of Culture and Tourism underlined, the massive expansion of standard hotels, cafeterias, restaurants, souvenir gift shops, recreation centers, socio- economic service at tourist attraction sites had catalyzed for the creation of job opportunities coupled with the skill upgrade training provided to 1.5 million people working in the tourism sector and in 110 professions of tourism sector.
This is merely the beginning. A transformational expansion of the sector is expected. The prospect of Ethiopian Tourism is brighter and promising, as several international institutions attested.
Recently, the renowned Madrid based strategy consulting firm, Bloom Consulting, which specialized in country branding and business strategy, ranked Ethiopia among the top ten in Africa.
Bloom Consulting’s report described Ethiopia among “the notable trendy new tourist destinations which climbed significantly in the ranking.”
Similarly, Travel Pulse, a known global travel website listed Ethiopia among the major travel destination forecasted in 2015. It described Ethiopia as:
“Though it’s still very low profile to most of the world, Ethiopia is on its way toward becoming a major travel destination. Though it has been hidden behind a veil for decades and is virtually unknown to the world, Ethiopia has major attractions for travelers. Ethiopia’s government has begun to make some good strategic moves towards bringing its attractions to the attention of the world. The whole process will take years, but the country may get some traction this year.”
As the Bloom Consulting’s report explains the economic performance of a country’s tourism sector is a key variable and the most important aspect in measuring that country’s sector. Especially, the average of total annual tourism receipts of international tourists within a country and also average accumulated growth of total annual tourism receipts of international tourists within a country.
The progress is not accidental rather an outcome of a sustained lengthy and holistic efforts of the government and the stakeholders of the sector.
The award is a great opportunity to our enhanced efforts, a recognition with actual benefits in tourism and image building and also an affirmation of the government’s policy and drive.