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Bringing sustainable tourism into the heart

of Africa

Considered the Cradle of Humanity, Ethiopia offers a truly cultural and historicalexperience of Africa. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is aiming to increase drastically

the number of tourists now that the infrastructure is ready to welcome visitors to the land

of nine UNESCO World Heritage sites

Ethiopias sustained economic growth saw it recording year-on-year economic growth of 10%

between 2003 and 2008. It is now forecasted to be the worlds third fastest growing economy

after China and India up to 2016. Its tourism sector has not achieved growth like this and its

potential as a highly frequented destination is still very much yet to be met.

Tadelech Dalacho, State Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Federal Democratic Republic of

Ethiopia (FDRE), is keen to make sure that tourisms share of Ethiopias GDP sees growth in thecoming years and that Ethiopia creates for itself a brand as a destination for tourists looking to

explore even further into the heart of Africa.

The State Ministers targets are ambitious and keenly connected to the promotion of Ethiopiasunique heritage. She hopes to draw a tourist volume of 1 million to 1.85 million by the end of2012. This compares with 515,000 in 2011 and 500,00 in 2010.

We aim to be one of the top five tourist-receiving countries in Africa by the year 2020, states

Ms Dalacho, her target involving the development of all tourism enabling sectors in the country,

namely transportation and visitor services. She notes the backlog in infrastructure has been the

main reason why Ethiopia has not been recognised as a tourist-receiving country.

The development of this infrastructure is being matched by the efforts of Ms Dalachos ministryto project a message worldwide of what Ethiopia has to offer. Ethiopia has huge tourism

resources. It offers a combination of different touristic products, be they natural, historical,

archaeological, scientific...making it unique within the continent, she says.

Considered by some as the Cradle of Humanity, it is the site of the discovery of some of the

very oldest human remains. Ms Dalacho comments: Ethiopia attracts a wide range of people,from researchers to archaeologists, to regular people interested in knowing more about

mankinds beginnings.

She also underlines the global importance of Ethiopia's attractions and the country's keenness to

open them up to visitors: UNESCO has registered nine World Heritage sites in Ethiopia.

Because the significance of these sites goes beyond the borders of Ethiopia, we havecollaborative programmes with a number of regional tourism bureaus, local governments, and

communities.

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This differentiation of Ethiopia as a cultural attraction will form the basis of much of the future

marketing campaigns. We have identified tourist-generating countries, most of which areEuropean and American destinations, and emerging market tourist-generating countries such as

China, Russia and India, says the Minister. These markets will be targeted by participation in

annual global tourism trade fairs, which are held in the nine main source markets, these being

Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Russia, Japan, China, the US and the UK.

We work with tour operators, hoteliers, and Ethiopian Airlines, she says. Through the supportof our embassies abroad, we invite travel writers, journalists, industry professionals to travel here

as a group... Finally, there is a plan to establish a Tourism Board, an independent body focused

on marketing and promotions.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is keen to develop a tourism industry that is sustainable and

ensures the preservation of the UNESCO World Heritage sites while simultaneously enabling

their access to growing numbers of visitors. Ms Dalacho underlines sustainability as the

cornerstone of tourism policy, affirming that her ministry is working with the communities at

the grassroots level...the goal being to make them understand the value of the attractions theyhave.

The Ethiopian Tourist Development Policy was developed in 2010. This was necessary in order

to ensure funding from the World Bank. The policy will focus on developing three destinations:Addis Ababa, Lalibela and Aksum. These areas are planned to set the standard for Ethiopian

tourism.

The State Minister is keen to spread the message that Ethiopia is ripe for tourism investment.Hoteliers, tour companies, training institutes, and the like are welcome to participate in these

projects. We have sound investment policies and attractive incentive packages.

For anyone considering a visit, she leaves them with this message: Ethiopia is a place to love.

All it takes is a visit. Its friendly people and scenic landscapes are sure to make your stay both

memorable and enjoyable.

http://www.worldfolio.co.uk/region/africa/ethiopia/tadelech-dalacho-minister-culture-tourism-

ethiopia-1258