The European Council on Tourism and Trade (ECTT) selected Ethiopia as 2015 World Best Tourist Destination this week citing the existing peaceful and stable socio-economic and political situation based on unity in diversity.
The availability of various tourist attraction sites, coupled with tourists safety, has made Ethiopia stand shoulder high in the selection. ECTT is also due to award today Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn for being instrumental for the nation to win the award noting that the community based, social oriented tourism, promoted by him is a perfect way of sharing revenue, growing income and supporting the development of marginal and rural communities.
The recognition of Ethiopia by ECTT as the 2015 world's best Tourist Destination is a great opportunity to build the image of the country and add value on the tourism sector. But it needs to be capitalized on. Though much praise has been showered on its tourism resource, the nation has barely made a dent into the huge potential, in other words, the contribution of tourism sector to the country's GDP is like a drop in the ocean.
The endeavours based on sound polices and strategies that earn the international recognition for being a best tourist destination are commendable but it would be prudent to look beyond the recognition and strive to reap the enormous economic benefit the acknowledgement brings with it, scaling up the hospitality services the country is well known for.
The government has officially recognized the unprecedented value of the tourism sector and the national resources. And as such it has taken several steps such as setting up the Ethiopian Cultural Heritage Project and the Tourism Transformation Council and Ethiopian Tourism Organization to transform the smokeles industry to the level it should be.
Contrary to the range of good points, for example, though tourists find much of the country's heritages such as monasteries and churches stunning, they complain that the heritages as well as the artifacts and parchment writings the touristic spots boast of are not well preserved. And most tourists also complain about transportation services. This problem has to be curbed.
Thus, much needs to be done in order to render memorable tourists' experience outside of the capital and well known tourist destinations. Protection for wildlife and biodiversity, appropriate preservation of the country's heritages,and improving their accessibility need also enjoy due attention. Not to mention, if strengthening the standardization of accommodation and first rate food and transportation services is not addressed it could seriously cutback tourist flows in the country.
Having fast and reliable telecommunication services and Internet connections should be as important as promotion. More tourists would have been attracted had there been a strong coordinated promotion of the tourism attractions Though on the rise, generally, Ethiopia is poorly known as its existing tourism potential which is rated to be pretty much higher than the average first world tourists had in mind. Therefore, there is a need to allocate the necessary budget and effectively utilizing it towards branding the country globally.
This demands a coordinated action by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, tour operators, hotels, the Ethiopian Air Lines, the Ethiopian Diaspora and Ethiopian embassies, also the media. In addition to advertising through tourism journals and participating in trade fares, intensive publication of books, brochures, maps, and videos must be made a point. Not forgetting, more innovative ways to prolong tourists stay in the country as well as to turn them into our ambassadors to promote Ethiopia as a tourist destination.
The Ministry should also be better organized and have a well qualified experts that can strengthen its capacity to regulate the smooth functioning of the whole system and provide reliable and up to date information to tourists. As well as to attract a new range of new investments in hotels, lodges, travel agencies, local and international transport, food service and training services over the next few years.
The effectiveness of the sector in the future will ultimately depend on better coordination, benefits and community participation, especially of those living in park areas.
Unfortunately,the country's wildlife and plant reservation has been rapidly declining owing to encroachment, illegal settlement, hunting, pollution, poaching and other human interference. What is worse, the country's ecosystem and wildlife protection services are at their worst just when the country started appreciating fully their value.
Given the destruction to the wildlife and biodiversity, it is likely that they will not be bequeathed to the next generation. For instance, Nech Sar National Park , well known for its diverse combination of vegetation, is a habitat for the world's largest population of the endemic Swayne's hartebeest and an unusually large population of crocodiles. For centuries this area was uninhabited. Now, the wildlife and half of the park's biodiversity are under a very serious danger mostly to encroachment.
Many are of the opinion that, all the country's major wildlife populations will disappear within a short span of time and the only way to divert this trend is for a new system of wildlife management to be introduced in Ethiopia which will enlist the co-operation of the population itself.
Thus, local participation and ownership are critical to avert the decimation of wildlife and threatened biodiversity. People in the environs of such touristic spots must protect their habitat permanently. In addition to this, there is a call for a strong legal framework and enforcement as well as a well-designed, equitably managed system that takes into consideration the situation of communities living around the surrounding parks.
But after all being said and done, we, as a nation require a fundamental shift in our attitudes towards the valuation and management of our tourist and natural resources. True,such a mind shift will not come easily overnight. But we know better because we are paying for the price of mismanaging our tourist and other natural resources including the ecosystem.
Source: allAfrica
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