New Council Promises to Transform the Lagging Tourism

Ethiopia Tourism Council

Despite having more UNESCO sites than any other African country, Ethiopia still sits 17th in the continent of countries most visited.

Ethiopia has launched two new entities – the Tourism Transformation Council and the Ethiopian Tourism Organisation – both designed to transform its tourism industry.

The establishment of the two organs has been necessitated by the need to coordinate the activities of the various stakeholders in the industry, said Mulgeta Seid, State minister for Culture & Tourism.

At the founding assembly meeting of Ethiopia’s Tourism Transformation Council and the first meeting of the Council’s members, held at the African Union’s (AU) conference hall, on Roosevelt Stteet, on March 14, 2014, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who chairs the Council, expressed his hope that the establishment of the Council will help make the country one of the top tourist destinations in Africa, as outlined in the government’s Growth & Transformation Plan (GTP).

“For a long time, Ethiopia has been negatively portrayed internationally,” Hailemariam said. “This is quickly changing and we need to sustain our efforts to positively portray the image of the country.”

Read more at: Addis Tribune