Tourists are flocking to Ethiopia from around the world for the Christmas and Epiphany celebrations, according to the Ministry of Tourism.
State Minister of tourism, Sileshi Girma stated that tourists are arriving in Ethiopia to celebrate the Christmas and Epiphany holidays. He highlighted that newly developed tourist destinations in various cities across the country are successfully attracting and retaining visitors.
The State Minister also explained that Ethiopian Airlines is adding domestic flights to accommodate tourists, tour operators are creating new tour packages, destinations are being enhanced to better receive guests, and accommodations are being prepared.
While Ethiopia possesses numerous tourism attractions, it has historically not fully reaped the benefits of this sector. To address this, the government's "Gebata Le hager" (Dine for Nation) and "Gebata Le sheger" (Dine for Sheger) projects are credited with revitalizing the tourism sector. Addis Ababa, in particular, is cited as an example of a city transitioning from a transit point to a destination in its own right.
Addis Ababa, the African Union's headquarters, was previously not as clean and green as it could be. Significant development work has been undertaken to improve this, the State Minister noted.
The State Minister emphasized that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's vision of making tourism a crucial pillar of the Ethiopian economy has been instrumental in driving this positive change.
With 18 UNESCO World Heritage sites, Ethiopia is projected to earn $1.2 billion from the tourism sector.