ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia has launched the first Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), which is vital to transform the tourism industry and gauge its contribution to the national economy, the Ministry of Tourism announced.
During the launching ceremony, Tourism Minister, Ambassador Nasise Chali stated that the TSA, as a scientific tool, provides tourists with organized information to get better services in various destinations.
"It is a testimony to our journey and vital to quantify the tourism and ensure sustainable development and sound strategy that transform Ethiopian tourism toward the future."
TSA can solve the lack of organized information in tourism so that the sector provides smooth services and comprehensive information thereby contributing quantifiable share to the national economy, she mentioned.
The Minister further elaborated that the satellite account helps to utilize the economic potential of the tourism sector for GDP contribution, job creation and investment attraction by providing crucial data for evidence based policy formulation, decision-making, and strategic planning.
"Ethiopia is rich in historical, natural and cultural resources with several tourism destinations but has not been able to obtain the benefit it deserves for underdeveloped infrastructures and other limitations."
However, these days, according to Nasise, the government is paying great attention to modernize the tourism sector in order to increasing foreign exchanges it generates to the national economy.
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UNECA Representative, Gefari Magnara (PhD) on his part said that launching TSA is a major milestone for Ethiopia as it helps to unlock tourism potentials for enabling stakeholders to have a current understanding of the sector.
It is anticipated that tourism could contribute over 5 billion USD in 2030 with coming of international tourist arrivals, he indicated.
"We need to optimize tourism contribution to national development goals like the creation of jobs and attraction of investments."
The Representative believed that the TSA has also a broader positive effect on other sectors such as agriculture and construction and also promotes inclusive development.
"UNECA will continue supporting Ethiopia and this financial foundation, stronger and more resilience to tourism industry to the benefit of all Ethiopians," he expressed.
It was in 2023 that Ethiopia began the TSA project in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and Development and various stakeholders from both public and private sectors.
