Room Rate Reduction Refused by Hotels Association
The Ethiopian Tourism Organisation has already convinced numerous other actors within the sector to slash prices.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – To the dissatisfaction of the Ethiopian Tourism Organisation (ETO) and in contrast to the decisions by some of the other actors in the country’s tourism value chain, hotel owners in the capital have rejected a proposal to reduce prices.
The decision was publicised through their collective representative, the Addis Abeba Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), during a press conference held at the Intercontinental Hotel on May 22, 2014.
“Let the market set the price,†is their position uttered through Biniam Bisrat, Chairman of the board of directors at the AAHOA and CEO and co-founder of the Jupiter Hospitality Group.
The ETO, an institution which was established as a public-private partnership venture with different actors in the value chain of the tourism sector as its members, is undertaking different activities to increase the revenue that the country gets from the sector. It believes that one of the main ways to increase the inflow of tourists to the country is to decrease the prices of various services.
It was, in fact, successful in convincing Ethiopian Airlines and the Tour Operators Association to slash their domestic prices by 40pc and 20pc, respectively. Board members of the organisation were hopeful that the Hoteliers would follow in their footsteps by decreasing their prices by no less than 40pc.
The decision by the AAHOA, also a board member of the ETO, not to decrease prices came at a time that the ETO is proving successful in convincing hotel owners in regional towns like Bahir Dar, Gonder and Lalibala to opt for price reduction, according to Fitsum Gezahegn, president of the ETO and a member of the board.
Read more at: Addis Fortune
