ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopian Tourism and Hotel Market Association stated that it is striving to encourage conference tourism to gain adequate benefit through exploiting potentials.
Approached by The Ethiopian Herald, Association President Getahun Alemu said more activities are being undertaken to encourage conference tourism to gain adequate benefit from the field.
The Association together with the Ministry of Tourism has planned to generate over 500,000,000 USD by attracting 1,000,000 tourists this Ethiopian fiscal year.
The association is working closely with other stakeholders such as Ethiopian Airlines and hotels to maximize tourist inflow, Getahun said.
Ethiopia hosts a number of conference tourism such as International Governance Forum in the past year despite the dissemination of misinformation by some foreign media about the country's peace, he stated.
Conversely, he noted that the tourist inflow in the past year is appreciable and it has promoted the positive image of the nation.
"Currently, the Association is taking the transit passengers to the destinations in the city such as Unity, Friendship, and Entoto Parks to relish. These tourism projects are significantly helpful to motivate the tourism sector in the country. Besides, a common understanding has been reached with the Taxi Association to promote the tourism slogan of Land of Origins and to transport those coming from abroad to attend African Union meetings whilst this service fee covers by the association," he noted.
Getahun believed that tourists come to Ethiopia for three reasons such as to attend conferences, to visit historical places, and safari destinations.
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He further stated that Ethiopian Tourism and Hotel Award (Nejash Award) will be held in Skylight hotel on December 30 aiming at supporting the area that had been exposed to damage due to the conflict in northern part of the country.
Some 200 potential tourists will observe the area to support renovation activities of the Al Nejashi Mosque, he added.
"Promoting tourism potentials at the international level even using the English Premier League -the way Rwanda did is significant for tourism development," he stated, mentioning how Rwanda attracted tourists by promoting the slogan "Visit Rwanda" on the sleeves of the players of Arsenal Football club.
Recently, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) confirmed that Ethiopia is one of the leading countries in the development of international tourism in 2023. The organization has published its quarterly report on the flow of international visitors and related information on Tourism Barometer.
BY MESERET BEHAILU
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2023
