“The country is looking for a transformational growth that
will take the sector to the next level, marketing Ethiopia
locally and internationally to list the country among Africa’s
top five destinations.
We are also shifting gear to incorporating technology into
the industry,” said Solomon Tadesse, CEO of Ethiopian
Tourism Corporation.
Challenges abound but the sector is
resilient
Among top challenges leading to the decline of tourist arrivals
are recent safety and security concerns that have been a major
setback to the country’s growing leisure and conference tourism
industry. However, the sector remains resilient as the country
continues working towards prioritising security to ensure the
safety of visitors and citizens, as well as minimise the impact
of security threats.
Paul Midy, CEO of Jumia Travel remains optimistic saying,
“Challenges abound but the future is inspiring. We look
forward to bringing the intended growth and progress
into reality.”
The report focuses on interesting findings, indicating that
although conference tourism is growing in Ethiopia, leisure
spending contributes 84.4% to GDP while 15.6% is from
business spending. In 2015, the direct contribution of travel
and tourism to GDP was ETB 51.3 billion ($2.26 billion) –
accounting for 4.1% of total GDP, and is forecast to rise to
ETB 85 billion ($3.7 billion) by 2026.
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In terms of hotel booking, Addis Ababa has the highest
demand at 39%, followed by Hawassa at 11.2%, Bishoftu
at 8.1%, and Bahir Dar at 7.5%. The majority of international
arrivals are from other African countries (31%), and Europe
(30%). While domestic tourism continues to gain popularity
among Ethiopians (31.3%), foreign visitor spending is still
higher at 68.7%.
According to Alexander Burtenshaw, the country manager of
Jumia Travel Ethiopia, expansion of tourism activities has
reduced Ethiopia’s dependence on agriculture. “Until recently,
little had been invested in mapping the country’s tourism, but
the last decade has seen intensified interest from investors.”
Preferences are high for the 2 and 3-star hotels, attracting 37%
and 36% of total hotel bookings respectively. Notably, a large
number of customers favor online payment (59%) as compared
to pay-at-hotel (41%). The rising growth of online payments can
be attributed to foreign travelers who book hotels with international
credit cards.
Find the full report here.
