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3rd Year / #32 / September 2021 ABYSSINIA BUSINESS NETWORK

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Travel to Wonder

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Editorial Team MANAGING DIRECTOR Daniel Tiruneh

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EDITOR IN CHIEF Aklile Tsige aklile08@gmail.com +251 911 837 863

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EDITORIAL ABYSSINIA BUSINESS NETWORK

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Edi

Enhancing

Ripple Effect It’s obvious that such celebrations or events do have significant impact on the development of a nation’s tourism The purpose of this day is to raise awareness on the important of tourism in affecting the social, cultural, political and economic values of international community.

This could benefit rural communities if managed well.

ETHIOPIA It was at its third session at Torremolinos, Spain in September 1979 that the United Nations World Tourism Organization/UNWTO / General Assembly decided to institute World Tourism Day, commencing in the year 1980. This date was chosen to coincide with an important milestone in world tourism: the anniversary of the adoption of the UNWTO Statutes on 27 September 1970.

The timing of World Tourism Day is particularly appropriate in that it comes at the end of the high season in the northern hemisphere and the beginning of the season in the southern hemisphere.

It is to be recalled that Ethiopia marked the 41st World Tourism Day for 33rd round in Jigjiga town last year under the theme “Tourism and Rural Development” in the presence of high ranking government officials and international guests while the 2021 Tourism Day for 34th edition is celebrated in Hawassa town, seat of Sidama Regional State and the South Nations, Nationalities and Peoples State under the theme “Tourism for Inclusive Growth”.

Tourism’s positive ripple effect not only helps support local businesses but fosters entrepreneurship and new business ventures. It offers opportunities to people from all walks of life, supporting vulnerable groups, including minorities, youth and women among others. It’s also is a driver for peace, helping promote tolerance between people as they learn and better understand each other’s cultures.

It can help protect and finance the preservation of historic and cultural sites, and even prompt the creation of new community initiatives, help protect and revitalize wildlife through preservation programs against illegal poaching and creates conservation jobs.

Local tourism which has been given little attention in Ethiopia, is a huge benefit for small business. These businesses often do not always stay small and have plans to develop into franchised brands. If small business owners are encouraged by seeing growth from local tourism in their area, they can bring even more revenue into the area as they expand to stimulate the economy further.

Major actors at the Federal and regional levels need to put more emphasis on construction and improvement of local infrastructure. This will, in turn, encourage people to start their own business and contribute to local community. If we all wish to live with this year’s World Tourism Day theme: Tourism for Inclusive Growth, we should include this cross-section of a given society as well.

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Aklile Tsige

Editor-In-Chief

Aklile Tsige is a journalist, a documentary script writer, director and narrator, movie subtitlemaker and Aviation English Language Rater.

His work has earned him numerous recognitions and certificates from various film production companies in the country. Currently Aklile is engaged in freelance writing for different media houses, and also serves as Editor-in-Chief for Abyssinia Business Network/ABN/. He has studied English Language and Literature for his under graduate study and Journalism and Communications,Graduate School of Journalism and Communications Addis Ababa University.

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Hawassa

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    Abyssinia Business Network / ABN /  2021

CONTENTS 10 Dr. Hirut Kassaw

18 Assistant Professor Tsegaye Tuke Kia

26 Seleshi Girma

34 Feteh Weldesenbet (PhD)

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38 Fitsum Ketema

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Henok Seyoum Melkamu Mekonen

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52 Gezahegn Mamo

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74 Alula Zewdu

Henok Seyoum

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Ethiopia should capitalize on its untapped tourism potential by promoting meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE).

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Hailemariam Desalegn

Tourism Ethiopia Chairman of the Board and former Prime Minister

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Strengthening Culture of Travel

By Aklile Tsige

Tourism is a combination of activities travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one year for leisure, business and other activities, according to WTO. It is beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity.

The WTO further explains that tourism refers to all activities of visitors including both tourist (overnight visitors) and same day visitors.

Ethiopia has so many historical and natural sites and diverse cultural, historical and natural tourism attractions. But unfortunately the country could not get the economic benefits if deserves from the sector.

However, in recent years due to the development of infrastructure like roads and hotels and the crucial role of the government marketing has increased heavily and changing the image of the country throughout the world.

ABN speaks to Ethiopian Minister of Culture and Tourism, Dr. Hirut Kassaw on issues related to the 2021 World Tourism Day and Ethiopia’s tourism development. Dr. Hirut Kassaw was born and raised in Kefoy, South Gondar, Ethiopia. She was born in the countryside, but as a child she had the opportunity to move to the city because her father was a civil servant. She completed her primary and secondary education in Debre Tabor.

After graduating from high school, she served as a teacher in different parts of Ethiopia, and when she was teaching in Sebeta she joined the Kotebe Teachers Education College, Addis Ababa, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Ethiopian Language and Literature. She also has a Master's degree from Bahir Dar University and Doctor of Philosophy from Addis Ababa University.

FDRE Minister of Culture and Tourism, that she leads, was awarded by the Pacific Travel Writers Association (PATWA) at the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) in Berlin in 2020. She was also awarded the "2019 Best Tourism Minister" accolad from Street of Gold Foundation.

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“ Ethiopia envisions to ensure human-centred development and this could be realized through empowering and involving communities in every development ventures.”

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Dr. Hirut Kassaw FDRE Minister of Culture and Tourism

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Dr. Hirut: World tourism day is commemorated on 27th of September every year internationally with the primary objective of creating public awareness on the socio-economic and environmental importance of the tourism industry and acknowledge the sector’s power to bring people together by creating immense opportunities for fraternity and economic prosperity.

The day is also marked in Ethiopia every year, which coincides exactly with Meskel Festival (The Founding of the true cross), the intangible world heritage. This season heralds the beginning of the bright season and ending of the rainy season. World Tourism day is celebrated in Ethiopia based on customized themes which in complete alignment with the general theme designated by WTO. I believe the commemoration of world tourism day helps to strengthen the culture of travel thereby fuelling domestic tourism on one hand, and enhance peoples understanding on the multidimensional advantages of the tourism sector.

ABN: Many argue that Ethiopia’s tourism development is rising once, and falling again, and rising. To what extent do you agree with this notion?

Why and How? Dr. Hirut: First of all, we need to understand the nature and inherent characteristics of the tourism industry generally. Tourism is an industry which is highly susceptible to natural and manmade crises that disrupt overall functioning of its components.

Political instability, civil riots, war, 12

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natural disasters may occur at any time and these would dilute the smooth operation of the tourism industry. In a similar vein, Ethiopian tourism is not immune to such kind of shocks that happen occasionally and elicit stagnations, or decline at certain times, in the growth path of the sector. For instance, the tourism industry has sharply declined during the Ethio-Eritrean War and resumed to register a remarkable growth then after. The COVID 19 pandemic and current security issues in the country have also combined to significantly limit the business of tourism which led to adverse effects on the tourism communities.

ABN: What do you think are the greatest achievements Ethiopia has registered in tourism development over the past three years or five years?

Dr. Hirut: Ethiopia has never registered a growth in tourist volume and tourism revenues as high as what has been achieved in 2017 and 2018. The preceding years had also heralded the bright future of the tourism industry through burgeoning number of travellers and revenues generated from the sector. The factors attributable to such achievements are diverse but nationwide government reforms, good publicity of the country internationally, integrated efforts of stakeholders in the sector, marketing and image building endeavours, initiatives to improve the quality of tourism services are to name few.

Institutional reforms undertaken to strengthen regulatory and legislative frameworks of the tourism sector can be taken as an important measure that

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ABN: The 2021 World Tourism Day is to be celebrated in the beautiful city of Hawassa. What do you think is its significance for the nation?

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supported tourism in a number of ways.

Large scale capacity building programs were implemented to fill skill gaps of tourism experts and practitioners. Hotel classification had been conducted on our capacity after continuous up skilling programs were executed to build the capacity of our experts.

“Preservation and protection of heritage sites, product development initiatives inclu ding the ones implemented by the H.E Dr. Abiy Ahmed, and efforts exerted to protect national parks and protected areas are among the key tasks conducted to develop destinations.”

ABN: What are the challenges and prospects of developing tourism destinations in Ethiopia?

Dr. Hirut: Destination development is a challenging but an exciting endeavour.

It is challenging because it requires a huge amount of resources, seamless coordination among stakeholders, community awareness and engagements, cross sectorial linkages. The exciting part of destination development is it is simply dealing with identification of new tourism resources, getting to know and dealing with diverse communities and cultures, creating opportunities for people, helping small scale and medium businesses to revive, preservation of cultural resources and conservation of nature.

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in a way that creates competitive advantages for the country in the global tourism market. There are a number of supply side bottle necks hindering overall competitiveness of the tourism industry. Some of the challenges related to destination development include but not exclusive to inadequate coverage of public infrastructures, limited tourism infrastructures in quality and quantity, low level of awareness among communities in destination areas, lack of harmonization and alignment of roles among tourism institutions, and absence of special investment incentives for investments undertaken in least developed parts of the country. . However, it has to be noted that a wide range of activities were undertaken to enhance the resource base of the tourism industry and improve destination over the last couple of years. Preservation and protection of heritage sites, product development initiatives including the ones implemented by the H.E Dr. Abiy Ahmed and efforts exerted to protect national parks and protected areas are among the key tasks conducted to develop destinations.

indicated the needs to establish systems, mechanism and in different facets of the tourism sector, only few strategies were designed and implemented.

In this respect, I discern two features of the problem; the first one is existence of gaps in the design and implementation of existing strategies, and secondly, there are a number of core issues that ought to be addressed by strategies. For instance, although destination development requires a clear strategy that indicate how the resources need to be identified and developed, who should develop the resources, what would the participation of local communities look like, what mechanism need to be employed to engage local communities or bringing them to the epicentre of tourism development, who are involving institutions in destination development, how could reliable partnerships will be created among actors and so on.

ABN: As Minister of this smokeless industry, what is your reflection on the existing policies, strategies and regulations of the nation’s tourism development?

Speaking of tourism legislations, I feel that among the diverse challenges tourism is facing is lack of sound and efficient legal frameworks that would govern the overall development of the sector and legislate inter-relationships among stakeholders and actors of the tourism industry. Experiences of different countries tell us the reality that tourism needs to be generally legislated, thus, most countries have what they mostly call it ‘Tourism Acts’ in a view to efficiently govern the development of the tourism

Dr. Hirut: Ethiopia has a tourism development policy which was endorsed and put intoeffect in 2009.

Besides, there a blend of strategies and legal machineries designed to support policy implementation. But one could easily understand that there are clear gaps in relation to strategies and legislations required to trigger tourism development. The policy has clearly 14

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industry. Nonetheless, Ethiopia do not a proclamation that serves the same purpose despite the presence regulations and directives.

Another area where serious limitations are observed is connected to effective implementation of policies, strategies and legislative frameworks.

ABN: As tourism continues to become more competitive, governments are having to adopt a more entrepreneurial role in attracting not only tourists but also investors to their region.

What is being undertaken in this regard?

Dr. Hirut: Tourism can be developed sustainably if the private sector plays its irreplaceable role efficiently. Investment in tourism infrastructure and services is profoundly important for any kind of tourism development. The private sector is considered as the driver of the tourism industry by investing in core tourism resources of Ethiopia. The role of the government in this respect is limited to creating a conducive investment climate and an enabling trade regime that accelerates ease of doing business thereby expediting tourism development.

Effective regulations and directive that supports tourism investment, implementing sound incentive mechanisms for domestic investors and FDI, identification of potential investment areas and opportunities, promotion of tourism investments are some of the initiative ministry of culture and tourism is working in collaboration with pertinent institutions.

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“Ethiopia envisions to ensure humancentred development and this could be realized through empowering and involving communities in every development ventures.”

ABN: It is argued that community-based, grassroots tourism is a more sustainable form of development than conventional mass tourism as it allows communities to break away from the hegemonic grasp of tour operators and the oligopoly of local élites. How do you describe the status of such situation in Ethiopia?

Dr. Hirut: It is basically premised that tourism can develop sustainably if it is government-led, private sector-driven and community based. Communities need, in any form of tourism, to be at the very centre of the development agenda. Involvement of local communities in tourism development helps to achieve a sustainable

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The ministry has been and is still providing support for investors and tourist service providers to benefit from the prevailing incentive schemes. We designed a new package of incentives for tourism to encourage domestic and international investors to develop tourism resources.

In this case we put due emphasis on those least developed areas where there are abundant and exotic resources with no significant investments. Tourism and hospitality investment conferences were held with the primary objective of identifying key challenges of tourism investment and putting strategic solutions to tackle the problems. This initiative will continue and other conferences will be organized in different cities/destinations of the countries.

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form of development where there maintains a balance between economic, socio-cultural and environmental aspects. Communities can no more be kept at bay in contemporary tourism development. Communities are part of the cast, not the audience. Resources belong to communities, (residents) have pivotal role in ensuring the safety and security of visitors, resources can better be protected by communities, authentic touristic experiences can only be created through interactions with local communities.

Therefore, developing tourism through community involvement is the fashion of the day, and any initiative that put communities aside will end up unsustainable. Traditional form of tourism pays little attention to community participation and benefits, disregards the natural environment, gives priority to short-term objectives and basically premised, never cares depletion of resources with little or no attention to ill effects of tourism on local cultures. This approach is a dead end as it simply leads to devastating consequences in the name of tourism development.

Ethiopia envisions to ensure humancentred development and this could be realized through empowering and involving communities in every development ventures. Hence, tourism development in Ethiopia is assumed to be materialized through active community involvement and achievements should be measured on its impact on communities situated in destination areas, among other things.

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2021 World

Tourism Day:

All Eyes on Hawassa

By Daniel Tiruneh Hawassa is one of the emerging and beautiful cities in Ethiopia.

Situated on the shores of Lake Hawassa in the Great Rift Valley, it is 273 km south of Addis Ababa via Bishoftu, 130 km east of Sodo, and 75 km north of Dilla.

The town serves as the capital of the Sidama Region and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region.

It lies on the Trans-African Highway 4 Cairo-CapeTown and has a latitude and longitude of 7°3′N 38°28′E Coordinates: 7°3′N 38°28′E and an elevation of 1,708 meters (5,604 ft.) above sea level.

The city of Hawassa takes its name from Lake Hawassa, which is derived from the Sidama language. 'Hawassa' literally means 'large body of water', and historians explain that the city was called 'Adare' before it got its current name, 18

which is believed to mean 'grazing land' for Sidama speakers. It was founded in 1952 during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I. The weather is temperate and Lake Hawassa, a natural resource, has made the city suitably warm and humid during the winter and summer seasons. The average rainfall in the city is 933.4 mm, and the city receives it twice a year in the fall and winter. The city's maximum temperature is 340c and the minimum temperature is 50c, and the average annual temperature is 200c-300c.

Comparatively Hawassa is a young city that was established fifty years ago with fastest urbanization rate of 6.4% registered last year in 2013. Since its establishments especially since current government of Ethiopia came to power tourism resources, products and infrastructures have been developing.

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Big projects are planned for this purpose. This proposal includes the creation of lodges, the creation of sporting facilities and the construction of a suitable cycling trail all around the lake. Mount Tabor is also planned to be developed.”

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Assistant Professor Tsegaye Tuke Kia Mayor of Hawassa City

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“Currently, the city has various tourist attractions to visit. To mention some - Lake Hawassa, Tabor and Alamura Mountains, Amora Gedel Park, Gudumale Park, Wendo Genet Falls, Burkito Hot Springs, Millennium Park, Loke Palace, and Sidama Cultural Hall.”

Bordered with west Arsi Woreda to the north, Wendo Genet Woreda to the east, Melga Woreda to the southeast, Shebedino Woreda to the south, and Hawassa wereda’s to the west, Hawassa City Administration has a boundary of 267.95 km2, and the Lake has a 93.47 km2 perimeter. Its Lake is blessed with water volume of 1,363 cubic meters, a maximum depth of 23 meters, an average depth of 13.3 meters, a side width of 9 km and a length of 16 km. Based on the 1999 National Housing and Census Report and calculating the population growth in urban and rural areas, the population in 2012 was 436,992.

Currently, the city has various tourist attractions to be visited. To mention some - Lake Hawassa, Tabor and Alamura Mountains, Amora Gedel Park, Gudumale Park, Wendo Genet Falls, Burkito Hot Springs, Millennium Park, Loke Palace, and Sidama Cultural Hall. There is also an Art Gallery in the name of the worldrenowned artist Afewerk Tekle.

Officially Amora Gedel is called Gudumale, but locally Amora Gedel is different from Gudumale. Residents and visitors told, “Gudumale is place where fiche festival is celebrated whereas Amora Gedel is the recreational area everyday accessible to anyone”. Indeed, it seems respondents are correct; while this research was conducted, Gudumale was only accessible on ‘fiche Chembelala’ but Amora Gedel was open every day throughout the year.

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Areas including Gudumale recreational area and Amora Gedel pooled were used to be palace of Ras Mengesha Seyoum built in 1969. The building was demolished before 40 years due to over-flooding, some walls of the palace are still there inside this recreational area. It was built by the order of Ras Mengesha Seyoum who was the fourth grandson of Emperor Yohanis IV. Fiche Festival is Sidama ethnic people‘s new year annual festival. The fiche is beautifully celebrated at Hawassa city in particular place called Gudumale. The New Year is varying every year; it could fall on either of the following months: July, August and September.Such festivities are common in southern Ethiopia.

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Irregularly hosted sport events such as great run, football games of Ethiopian premier league clubs, religious events and trade shows are part of the main attraction for tourists visiting cities. Annual, quarterly held, conferences and meeting of different governmental and non-governmental organization usually attracted domestic and international business tourists. These events are usually seasonal with short length of stay.

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Assistant Professor Tsegaye Tuke Kia Mayor of Hawassa City, has been working as the Mayor of Hawassa since October 22, 2020. From his previous working experience, he worked as a Dean of College of Law and Governance at Hawassa University. During his stay at the University, he worked at different levels, such as a lecturer, researcher, college dean, up to assistant professor level.

Since July – October 2020, he has been serving as Head of Sidama Regional City and Construction Bureau.

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According to Tsegaye, Hawassa city is expected to celebrate the World Tourism Day in 2021. It is a big opportunity for the city to show its potential to become a tourism hub, adding that the city administration of Hawassa has finalized all the necessary arrangements for the success of this special event.

“A lot of guests are expected to attend the event. Thus, to ensure an enjoyable and peaceful stay for guests, the administration of Hawassa city will do all it can to make the occasion more enjoyable.” noted Tsegaye.

It is known that Hawassa city is showing rapid growth at a national level which is attributed to the city’s sanitation and cleanness, peace, and convenient infrastructure, making it one of the modernized cities in Ethiopia. It also offers investors opportunities through preparing big investment site that will provide lots of job opportunities, and generate foreign currency at the national level.

The service sector can be listed as the city's tourism destination. There are lots of expedient hotels built near the lake, making it a more attractive place to consider staying. The other impressive fact about the city of Hawassa being a tourist destination is that it is filled with beautiful green views along the roadside of the entire city and has beautiful and breathtaking hills for relaxation.

The Mayor indicated that the city of Hawassa is the hub of Ethiopia's southern region. A significant number of people are

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Assistant Professor Tsegaye Tuke Kia

A lot of guests are expected to attend the event. Thus, to ensure an enjoyable and peaceful stay for guests, the administration of Hawassa city will do all it can to make the occasion more enjoyable.”

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expected to attend the festival on 2021 World Tourism Day-A programme, which showcases the cultural and historical assets of the over 53 nations, nationalities and people of Southern Ethiopia.

“Big projects are planned for this purpose.

This proposal includes the creation of lodges, the creation of sporting facilities and the construction of a suitable cycling trail all around the lake. Mount Tabor is also planned to be developed.”

For big hotels with greater facilities, Hawassa is noted. For example: Haile resort, Lewi Resort, Southstar hotel, and Rori Hotel. Hawassa hotels are rated up to 5-star. Regardless of the rating, the hotels in Hawassa are renowned for their good hospitality and work ethics, which attracts tourists. It's a town full of natural resources.

potential urban tourism resources that need to be developed in to urban tourism product in the near future.

Hawassa University is one of the universities established before 11 years. The university has been main tourist destination for tourists whose motivation is education and research.

College of Agriculture is one of the famous colleges in the city that has collaboration and partnership with abroad universities. Because of this, people have been coming from abroad in order to teach, give advice and get advice or in order to use the University for Different Reasons.

Hawassa has been transformed into a hub for conferences. The federal government currently prefers hosting high-level meetings in the city.

The city also has a road route to Kenya. Making it a preferable place for an enjoyable stay. To benefit the tourism sector, the city of Hawassa is seeking to reach out to possible potential.

“In the next 10 years, Hawassa will be able not just for Ethiopia but for East Africa to become a tourist center.” Said Hawassa’s Mayor. Big projects are planned for this purpose. This proposal includes the creation of lodges, the creation of sporting facilities and the construction of a suitable cycling trail all around the lake. Mount Tabor is also planned to be developed. This is one of Ethiopia's beautiful mountains. It can be used to attract tourists for hiking and a pleasant time.

Being the capital city of region state of SNNP and zonal administration of Sidama itself gives an opportunity for the city to be visited by people from towns of the region and neighboring town for business purpose. Millennium Park, Hawassa University, market places and old villages such as Arab sefer, are some of the

Besides the air transport service being delivered from the nation’s capital to the city, road transport is being modernized to network the city to various parts of the country. For instance, the express route to Hawassa will be completed shortly to make transport access much easier for people travelling to the city.

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Tourism for Inclusive Growth

By Staff Writer World Tourism Day is celebrated each year on September 27 to spread awareness about the importance of tourism and its impact on our society. The date was chosen as it was on this day that the UNWTO adopted its Statutes.

The Statutes are considered milestones in the global tourism space.

Tourism is a major source of employment because of its labour-intensive nature and the significant multiplier effect on employment in related sectors. It is estimated that one job in the core tourism sector creates about one-and-a-half additional or indirect jobs in the tourism-related economy. Overall tourism accounts for one in ten jobs worldwide.

This year’s World Tourism Day is celebrated at a national level particularly in the Sidama regional State which has huge tourism potential including parks, coffee, hot springs, lakes, endemic wildlife and the wellknown ‘love city’of Hawassa.

ABN approached Seleshi Girma, CEO of Tourism Ethiopia to explore what his organization has been doing to exploit the untapped tourism potential of the country, and issues related to the 2021 World Tourism Day. Seleshi had served his country as Chief of Staff, D/ Bureau head, Advisor for Tourism Ministry, a University Lecturer and National Consultant. He has studied MBA in Int'l business, MSc in Wildlife Conservation and Ecotourism, as well as PhD in Tourism management (Mekelle, Bahirdar, and Austria/ITH Universities).

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Tourism Ethiopia with the support of Master Card Foundation has completed the national tourism resource mapping project and National Tourism Investment Profile with lists and details of potential investment areas available for the development of different tourism facilities.”

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Seleshi Girma

CEO of Tourism Ethiopia

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This year’s World Tourism Day is celebrated with the theme: ‘Tourism for Inclusive Growth’, underlining the ability of tourism to drive inclusive development and the role it plays in promoting respect while generating opportunities for many millions across the globe. The celebration in Hawassa is expected to involve representatives of national leaders, media, regions and the regional community.

Therefore, it is a good opportunity for Ethiopia to showcase the potential of tourism to promote cohesion among Ethiopians by retrieving our lost values, strengthen our social fabrics and start looking in to the future with a new spirit & inclusive thinking. Yet, Sidama being a new region with great culture, history & natural assets would be promoted to the nation and the global community at large. Seleshi, CEO of Tourism Ethiopia said, “I am inspired by the energy and hospitality of the Sidama people and would love to see everyone has the chance to see it”

“We are now among the pioneer countries in Africa to obtain a “Safe Travel Stamp” from the World Travel & Tourism Council. We will also continue with our struggle in a “New Normal situation” to do our best with the stakeholders so that people will travel safe in Ethiopia.”

According to United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). 100 millions of jobs in tourism dependent countries are found at risk with high impact on the livelihood of many engaged in contact- intensive service businesses of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. As tourism is the most sensitive industry it is also the most resilient industry that can easily regenerate fast.

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Seleshi noted that tourism is a very sensitive industry which could seriously be affected both by manmade and natural calamities, adding that COVID 19 pandemic is found to be one of the calamities that the global community has been facing in the history of mankind. Most of the tourism-dependent economies are seriously harmed in a new era of fast growing interconnectedness.

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Tourism Ethiopia strongly believes that the reality on the ground has slowly been changing with the discovery of vaccines and distribution to destinations. We have been taking a number of measures to ensure the sector’s survival during & post Covid-19 in future. To mention some: - A national recovery strategy was crafted in collaboration with key stakeholders.

- National tourism protocol was prepared and training offered to tourist service providers.

- Major tourist attraction sites are still being repeatedly disinfected & reopened for visitors.

- The global safety protocol is adapted to Ethiopia’s situation and is being implemented by industry actors.

- Currently, majority of the service providers are already vaccinated & waiting to serve tourists.

- Furthermore, we have made a consistent effort and succeeded in convincing the financial sector to put financial support scheme in place to maintain their employees.

Consequently, the CEO said, “we are now among the pioneer countries in Africa to obtain a “Safe Travel Stamp” from the World Travel & Tourism Council. We will also continue with our struggle in a “New Normal situation” to do our best with the stakeholders so that people will travel safe in Ethiopia.”

With regards to some confusion on duties and responsibilities of institutions working on Ethiopian tourism, Seleshi pointed out that the tourism sector has gone through different institutional changes and leadership since 1993. The major causes of this confusion is that the sector, with less priority has been a victim of remarriage Abyssinia Business Network / ABN / 2021

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to and repeated divorce from different sectorial institutions. Experiences in the sector depict overlapping and duplicated efforts in the governance, management and operations done by the different tourism organizations.

To be specific, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is a policy making and regulatory body, a canopy institution that leads the sector as a whole regulating the operation of different institutions including culture and sports. Conversely, Tourism Ethiopia is an independent institution under the supervision of the Prime Minister Office & Ethiopian tourism board with its own cascaded mission in the sector and distinct from the mission of the policy maker.

The CEO underscored that major responsibilities of tourism Ethiopia encompasses: tourist destination development; marketing tourist destinations; promotion of tourism attractions, investment opportunities and tourism businesses; MICE tourism and tourism fund management.

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In general, currently, there is ongoing effort by the government to following key principle of restructuring to establish the best possible institutional arrangement and create a platform that can transform Ethiopian tourism to the next level. “I have got the opportunity to share my views too. Thereby, these different views prevail as to which functions are important, whether they should be carried out by specialized organizations or brought together in multi-functional bodies.” Seleshi noted.

Regarding Green Economy, the CEO explained that the concept of what we call Green Economy is a result of the growing concern for environment and the community that live in it. He added that as part of the global community Ethiopia has also a concern for the changing environment more than any nation experiencing intermittent draughts and famines particularly in 1970s

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Ethiopia Land of Origins

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1980s and 1990s. For Ethiopia green economy is more than a fashion and it is rather a means of ensuring sustainability to survive as a nation.

Sustainability of environment has become a key issue in the tourism Industry and the perspective that tourism is a smokeless industry has also substantially faded away among the global travel community for there has never been tourism without smoke. Seleshi said, “For many others and me tourism is further becoming a smokeless industry with the introduction of solar or renewable energy.”

“Tourism Ethiopia with the support of Master Card Foundation has completed the national tourism resource mapping project and National Tourism Investment Profile with lists and details of potential investment areas available for the development of different tourism facilities.”

In Ethiopia’s case each of the four pillars of Ethiopia’s Green Economy strategy implicitly informs the need to practically protect and improve the environment in an innovative and responsible way while practicing agriculture and protecting and re-establishing forests. Furthermore, it articulates the need to shift to renewable energy sources and use of modern and energy efficient technologies in the transport, Industry and construction sectors.

Therefore, Green tourism broadly involves environment friendly tourist products and services provided by environment friendly facilities and establishments at destinations.

It also comprises environmentally friendly tourism activities such as trekking, biking tours, hiking & horse riding in Ethiopia.

The trend for green tourism is showing a positive trend.

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Most importantly, the Green Ethiopia initiatives and the past years billions of trees plantation would have great opportunity to go to a more green Ethiopia – Green tourism practices.

The CEO disclosed that Tourism Ethiopia with the support of Master Card Foundation has completed the national tourism resource mapping project and National Tourism Investment Profile with lists and details of potential investment areas

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Ethiopia is repeatedly mentioned as one of the richest countries in tourism potential. It has got a divers tourism resources of nature, culture and history.

It is agreed that the fundamental nature of the tourism industry is that it is government led and private sector driven. As government institution, our major role with regard to developing and promoting different types of tourism is largely to make resource mapping, develop tourism products and then promote potential investment areas in collaboration with relevant institutions like Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Investment Commission and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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The existing four biosphere reserves are taken as main attraction sites for environment friendly tourists and recently a new route is developed for coffee tourism. There is a rapid expansion of eco-friendly lodges around protected areas and national parks. The assembly plant for the production of electric vehicles is also taken as a good start in the manufacturing sector that may happen soon in Ethiopia too.

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people spiritual relief from stress or any other health concerns. There are also initiatives by the government to establish international level hospitals with highest possible medical facilities & expertise to benefit from the medical tourism sector.

We have a new marketing strategy that promotes cross boarder tourism as one of the potential areas to tap in to the growing regional market. There is initiative to tap into the regional market which started few years back with Ethiopia playing active role in creating joint platforms with Djibouti, Kenya and the Republic of Sudan to promote the region as a single destination. We have already done great job with Djibouti and Kenya this year & hope it will continue by expanding in to IGAD’s member countries in the coming years.

available for the development of different tourism facilities.

The investment profile is the first of its kind in availing full-fledged information about 57 investment sites with recommended type of tourism activities. The Tourism Ethiopia also took an initiative to develop comprehensive national tourism investment strategy & designed special incentives for remote tourist destinations to easily pull FDI and DDI in an efficient way.

Medical tourism is one of the focus areas captured to ensure product and service diversification. There are only few initiatives taken to promote investments in wellness tourism focusing on Ethiopia’s rich geothermal resources, hot springs, religious site visits to give

Asked what key messages he wanted to convey for ABN readers in connection with the 2021 World Tourism Day, Seleshi noted that Ethiopia’s tourism sector has a diverse set of assets and offerings with the potential to attract tourists from a range of market segments. Most existing assets require enhancement, significant support, or inclusive growth and investment to be developed into attractive tourism products. Enjoy and visit Ethiopia. Visit Sidama where we celebrate this year’s World Tourism Day as a nation.

Ethiopia Land of origins - ኢትዮጵያ ምድረ ቀደምት - SIDDOOMA BAATTO.

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Focus on Hospitality

By Mekdes Paulos

Comfortable hotels play a vital role in attracting tourists.

After the fall of the communist government 27 years ago, Ethiopia started privatizing most of the state owned hotels and tourism establishments. To support this, the government adopted a policy that allows duty-free imports of hotel furniture, fixtures and equipment. It also provides for favorable loans to investors for the construction of new rated hotels.

But, while the hotel industry is growing, the number of available hotel rooms is still the lowest. In terms of room availability, according to recent data, Ethiopia is globally ranked 134 out of 140, compared to Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania at positions 122, 121 and 118 respectively.

Furthermore, there are few hotels of an international standard, and many are old and unattractive.

Infrastructure to support the hotels is lacking. There are no zoning policies to establish the areas where hotels should be constructed, or tourist activities to complement them when they are built.

ABN talks to Feteh Weldesenbet (PhD), President of the Ethiopian Hotel and Related Services Employers Federation, on the development of the hotel sector and the 2021 World Tourism Day, celebrated in his birth place Hawassa. Dr. Feteh is a graduate in marketing management from an overseas university with a specialization in hotel service.

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The 2021 World Tourism Day, which focuses on tourism for inclusive growth, means a lot. Collaboration between the transport and tourism ministries, as well as other stakeholders, appears to be vital to achieve the expected outcomes.”

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In developed countries, services in general are highly heterogeneous and include a great variety of interesting, complex, and often highly innovative activities.

Over the past few decades, their importance has steadily grown compared to that of tangible goods.

Hotel industry is a very competitive business in which customers place great emphasis on reliability and timely service delivery. The vision of all such businesses is to provide quality high class services to customers in order to successfully thrive and achieve their mission.

Hawassa city administration has taken a different actions to encourage private investment in all sectors of economy; making favorable condition, policy and guidelines. The private sectors in all its forms is guaranteed and secured. Also attempts are being made to provide incentives in the form of credit, tax reduction, according to sources from the city administration.

Feteh Weldesenbet (PhD)

President of the Ethiopian Hotel and Related Services Employers Federation /PEHRSEF/

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a whole. It is an opportunity for the city to host the 2021 World Tourism Day and demonstrate the city's tourism potential. This event will immensely benefit Hawassa and the Sidama region. On this occasion, the region, as a new regional state, will present the blessed land and the people’s culture to the nation and the globe. It will undoubtedly have significant impact on the region's and city's tourism sectors.

The National Hotel Federation was established to benefit hotel operators as well as other related service providers. It is true that well-coordinated unity can make a difference. One of the organization's key goals is to establish and work on peaceful industry, capacity building, experience sharing, and to participate in policymaking.

COVID 19 has had a significant impact on the hotel industry. There have been hotels that have been closed and had risk of losing staff and failing to repay bank loans.

Our federation has suggested a 6.6-billion-birr soft loan for the government to offer to hoteliers for salaries and operating expenditures after discussions with the hoteliers.

The government then opted for a 3.3-billion-birr soft loan with a minimum interest rate.

and historical attractions, many international standard hotels can still be created to adequately serve tourists throughout the country.” said Feteh, adding that promotion and marketing strategies have not yet been well developed as advertising plays a significant role in the hotel sector's great delivery. Security must also be prioritized in order to establish a better platform for providing information to travelers. As a result, travelers may begin their vacation with the assurance that they will be safe and have a “The 2021 World Tourism Day pleasant stay. which focuses on tourism for inclusive growth, means a lot. “While there are already a few hotels Collaboration between the built in the city, the tourism service transport and tourism ministries, in my opinion is not well developed.” as well as other stakeholders, He argues that simply putting up appears to be vital to achieve the luxury accommodation does not mean expected outcomes.” Says Dr. that everything is in place to satisfy tourists. Training of tourism service Feteh Weldesenbet. personnel, for instance, could be worth The other challenge the sector faces exploring. “Once the hotel is set up, is land acquisition; standardizing you still need to be able to provide the size of land should be a priority unparalleled quality in service and for hotel construction. As a result, communication with your guests.” pre-planning for hotels is strongly explains Dr. Feteh. encouraged in order to have To spur tourism growth and standardized hotels. development, Ethiopia must Increasing the number of hotels improve the hotel industry and the contributes very much to the infrastructure that supports it. It will development of tourism. Before take the cooperation of all stakeholders COVID-19, there were hardly government, hotel professionals, hotel sufficient hotels to host different owners and hotel trade associations to events across the country. The achieve a competitive and sustainable service sector is essential to the sector. economy's development.

According to Dr. Feteh, obtaining bank loans is one of the most significant issues that the hotel sector encounters. There are numerous factors that should be considered for the development of the hotel industry. A loan with a short repayment time results in a cash shortage. As a result of the nature of hotel company payback requiring a longer period of time, banks should consider the hotel sector differently.

The hotel sector is beginning to recover from the pandemic with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MoTC), issuing the “With Ethiopia's COVID protocol to serve tourists. natural, cultural, 36

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wonderful religious,

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Hawassa Industrial Park

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Pioneer in investment tourism

By Daniel Tiruneh Tourism efforts go above and beyond the conventional methods of promoting national heritages of a nation. It encompasses attracting foreigners that visit a country for multiple purposes to engage in foreign direct investment. Since investment is one area of tourism, the Hawassa city administration put a special focus on this sector so that foreigners from near and far can contribute to investment tourism. One of these efforts is manifested in the Hawassa industrial park.

ABN reporter Daniel Tiruneh talks to Fitsum Ketema, Hawassa industrial park CEO on overall performance of the park which is believed to be pioneer in investment tourism in the country. Fitsum earned his bachelor’s degree from Hawassa University in Hotel and tourism management. He also has an MBA from the same university where he also taught for 7 years. After his stint in Hawassa University, he joined the Hawassa industrial park, an investment hub that majorly focuses on textile and garment industry. To aid the administrative works at the industrial park, Mr. Fitsum took part in several government organized training courses on industrial park administration and management in China, Cambodia and Thailand.

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Some of the major international brands are PVH, H&M, Levi’s Tommy Hilfiger, and the Children palace.

These international brands are incentivized with duty-free machineries, raw materials, construction materials, 5-8 years of income tax relief periods and plug and play manufacturing shades.”

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Fitsum Ketema Hawassa industrial park CEO

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The Hawassa Industrial park is the first industrial park in Ethiopian in terms of fulfilling international compliance standards. It was inaugurated with three key aims under consideration: Job creation, securing direct foreign currency and technology transfer. Investors from other countries can also bring innovative ideas and work culture which benefits the employees of the park who are between the ages of 18-24.

Uutof the total 300 hectares of land, 140 hectares of land have been developed for investment in the first phase of the park’s construction. A total of 52 manufacturing shades are already built with one-stop shop services, fire brigades, clinics, police stations and waste water treatment sites also included. A housing site enough for 1,000 foreign professionals is also part of the industrial park.

“Some of the major international brands are PVH, H&M, Levi’s, Tommy Hilfiger, and the Children palace. These international brands are incentivized with duty-free machineries, raw materials, construction materials, 5-8 years of income tax relief periods and plug and play manufacturing shades.”

Thus far, the Hawassa industrial park has created job opportunities for 35,000 individuals in 23 companies operating at the park. When it operates fully, 25,000 more jobs will be created taking the tally to 60,000. Mr. Fitsum said that this figure can double or triple through indirect employment.

Out of the 23 manufacturing companies in the Hawassa industrial park, 20 of them are

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Catering services to employees, transportation services and other auxiliary utilities draw in more indirect employment. Another advantage that the industrial park can bring comes in the form of research and development. The park closely works with universities and institutes to bring new ideas and innovations onto the table, thereby benefitting the local community.

from abroad from Europe, Asia, America and the remaining three are local companies. As highlighted

by Mr. Fitsum some of the major international brands are PVH, H&M, Levi’s, Tommy Hilfiger, and the Children palace. These international brands are incentivized with duty-free machineries, raw materials, construction materials, 5-8 years of income tax relief periods and plug and play manufacturing shades.

In terms of logistics, the Hawassa industrial park reduces extra and unnecessary trips to the Modjo dry port that used to be the case in the past. Instead, goods and materials and transported from and to the park through the Hawassa-Djibouti corridor and the

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“Buyers audit production processes and make sure that the park meets international compliance standards. Hence, to ensure quality of production process, the park has installed a first of its kind zero-liquid discharge plant in Ethiopian industrial parks’ history.”

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Hawassa airport. These transportation mechanisms have made it a destination of choice for both Ethiopian and international investors alike.

One of these institutions is the National Bank of Ethiopia that is delegated by the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. CBE operates on behalf of the national bank in matters related to foreign currency, and import and exportation goods. Other governmental organizations have delegated their duties and obligations to the Ethiopian investment commission for the purposes of business license and residence permit renewals, capital registration and other related services. Ethio-telecom is also part of the one-stop service. It has a team of experts who settle bills and maintain its telecom infrastructure.

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An important feature of the Hawassa industrial park is the one-stop service it provides to its investors.

Institutions that are vital to the operation of the park are all available in this center. Some operate on the field while other companies that whose organizational make up does not allow operation on the site are delegated by other representative companies.

Another important member of this one-stop shop is the customs and revenues bureau which supervises incoming and outgoing goods, giving customs clearance, and working in close collaboration with investors. Ethiopian Electric Power is also another member which gives maintenance and operational services for the industrial shades. There are 5 transit companies specializing in the import and export of finished goods and raw materials. Keeping the employees of the industrial park informed is the community FM radio. It works on different health related issues by inviting health professionals and other experts of the field.

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“Buyers audit production processes and make sure that the park meets international compliance standards. Hence, to ensure quality of production process, the park has installed a first of its kind zero-liquid discharge plant in Ethiopian industrial parks’ history.”

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In the COVID-stricken year of 2020, the industrial park showed its excellence and resilience in staying relevant and competitive. A total of garment materials worth 114 million USD were produced in the past fiscal year. Additionally, investors were allowed to sell their products to the local market so that they can avoid closure. Moreover, the Hawassa industrial park was also a pioneer in producing face masks in an aim to substitute imports. This and other import reduction efforts have altogether generated 20 million USD. Quality assurance is of paramount importance at the Hawassa Industrial Park. Buyers are sensitive and very critical of production processes. If an issue arises it is highly likely that products will not be accepted. As such buyers audit production processes and make sure that the park meets international compliance standards. Hence, to ensure quality of production process, the park has installed a first of its kind zero-liquid discharge plant in Ethiopian industrial parks’ history. The plant treats 11 million liters of effluent liquid from every manufacturing shade and other facilities and purifies it for re-use.

From the standpoint of social responsibility, the industrial park has benefitted the local people by hiring them in the manufacturing shades. In connection to the large number of people hired in the shades several small businesses such as barber shops, cafes, shopping kiosks have sprouted.

Big enterprises such as hotels are also attracting several thousands of customers that visit the industry parks in symposiums, workshops and conferences. Hence, the benefit of the Hawassa Industrial Park goes beyond its premises.

When operation began, the biggest challenge of the company was providing its employees adequate housing.

Construction of 13 buildings that can house 6,500 employees will begin soon as Mr. Fitsum highlighted. When it finishes transportation burdens on companies will be alleviated.

Workers will also be motivated to work and it increases productivity.

With the second phase of construction to begin soon, the Hawassa Industrial Park promises to become the primary go-to destination for investors from near and far. Quality and excellence are assured making the park a towering industrial figure of southern Ethiopia.

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A Top-Notch Hospitality:

Haile Resort - Hawassa

By Samuel Teka Urban tourism is an old form of tourism in which people visit landmarks such as football stadiums, museums, and their friends and families. Urban tourism emerged as a viable form of tourism in the 70’s at a time when heritage tourism was regarded as dangerous and unsafe. Since then it grew to form the economic base of some cities and boost their economies. It is therefore a fast-growing form of tourism whose growth has been propelled by historical and cultural attractions and modern forms of tourism such as hotels, shopping, exhibitions, concerts and other forms of attractions.

According to UNWTO (2011), city tourism has generated large sums of money. In Europe, the majority of tourism activities are undertaken in cities. However, there hasn’t been clear information regarding urban tourism in African cities even though the figures are on the rise. According to Master Card (2014), cities such as Johannesburg, Cape Town and Cairo were three top city tourism destinations in Africa.

The concept of using cities as a leverage to boost the tourism economy is at its infancy in Ethiopia. But there has been a concerted effort by the Ethiopian government in recent years which is an opportunity for urban tourism developers and investors in hotel and resorts. As urbanization expands throughout the country, Ethiopia would benefit from urban tourism and the foreign currency associated with it.

Hawassa is one of the biggest cities in Ethiopia with a conducive environment that allows for urban tourist attraction. According to a 2013G.C CSA report, Hawassa is the sixth biggest city in Ethiopia next to Addis Ababa, Mekele, Nazreit, Dire Dawa and Gondar with total population of 225,700. With multiple sites that can serve as destinations, only lake Hawassa was being promoted.

To curb this shortcoming, different hotel and hospitality investors have been engaged in developing hotels and lounges across Hawassa. One of these developers is Haile Hospitality Group which has been involved in developing hotels and resorts. In fact, it is the first group that built Hawassa’s pioneering 4-star hotel the Haile Resort - Hawassa. The resort played a huge role in attracting local and international guests and fostering tourism activities.

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“ “The celebration of world tourism day in the city will be a great opportunity for destination marketing

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Melkamu Mekonen Managing Director of Haile Hospitality Group.

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“Haile Resort- Hawassa is the first 4-star hotel in the city of Hawassa” 46

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Melkamu Mekonen is the Managing Director of Haile Hospitality Group. Melkamu has been working in different levels of the hotel industry for the past 16 years. ABN met with the Director to discuss about the Hospitality Group’s journey since establishment, challenges, improvement plans, and areas of opportunities.

Inaugurated in 2010 G.C Haile Resort- Hawassa lies on a vast 50,000 sq. meters of land right at the shore of the beautiful Lake Hawassa. It is the first of seven resort hotels under the Haile Hospitality Group. The resort has 126 guest rooms constructed with different settings aimed at giving visitors multiple views of Hawassa. All the rooms are equipped with different amenities such as remote-controlled AC, hair driers, Minibar & complete bath amenities. Restaurants, modern Bar and Lounges are also part of this resort along with 6 different multi-purpose halls.

Additional recreational facilities & services that the resort offers also includes Spas, Gym, Swimming pool, outdoor and indoor playgrounds both for adults & childrens are some of the many recreational & entertainment facilities the resort provides to its customers. It also employs the best technology with centrally controlled fire alarms, CCTV, integrated online services that include booking, bill payment and electronic menu.

“Haile Resort- Hawassa is the first 4-star hotel in the city of Hawassa” Haile Resort - Hawassa is currently a 4-star Resort and the hospitality group aims to raise its star rating to 5-star in the next few years. To this end, the Resort has employed over 300 Employees.

Haile Resort- Hawassa has its own school in which it trains beginners in hotel operation and food preparation. A majority of its employees amounting to 60-80 percent come from this school.

Mr. Melkamu outlined that the inauguration of Haile Resort - Hawassa is a milestone for the

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city itself & it promoted family trips and vacations that were not widely practiced before. The resort also attracted many investors and hotel businesses down to the city through its Great Run event that is held annually. Promotional works that have been conducted by Haile Hospitality Group attracted the opening of numerous hotels & resorts in the city.

Hawassa sets itself as a unique tourist destination with the spectacular location it possesses giving guests glamorous panoramic view of Lake Hawassa. Its allinclusive services such as playgrounds, different meeting and event halls, lounges, boat excursions and horse riding makes it complete and nost preferred by its customers.

Mr. Melkamu stressed that authenticity is an important attribute of the resort’s staff with humble service attitude to guests and visitors aiming to go above and beyond their expectations.

Excellence has always been at the core of Haile Resort - Hawassa. The excellent service comes in the form of a hospitable staff that is highly trained to give the best experience for customers during their stay.

To this end, the resort relies on its “I am Haile Service Culture”, in which the staff puts their best effort to deliver memorable experience to guests. All these cumulated efforts assured our resort to win both the 2020 & 2021 travelers preferred choice certification award on Tripadvisor by being one of the top 10% list of hotels & resorts worldwide and has also an Excellent 8.5/10 rating by booking.com.

“The celebration of world tourism day in the city will be a great opportunity for destination marketing” As the city of Hawassa braces to celebrate the World Tourism Day on a national level, hotels and other recreational centers prepare to host visitors from near and far.

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As Mr. Melkamu pointed out, the celebration of World Tourism Day in the city will be a great opportunity for destination marketing in which other places of tourist destinations can be promoted and be used to the benefit of gaining tourist income. It will also be a time to call on tourists as large number of people will come to the city.

As much as there are opportunities to take advantage of, there are also challenges and areas of improvement that have to be heeded. As the Managing Director discussed, hotels and resorts must go the extra mile to increase the staying nights of travelers. It is the memorable hospitality and warm welcome of these destinations that prompt guests to spend more days

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and nights. To this end, marketing should be done adequately which is something Hawassa is currently lacking.

Ensuring excellence service through giving personnel hand-on experience is also essential. In this aspect major challenges lie ahead and hotel schools should focus on having adequate training personnel.

Hotels lack training centers that are needed to develop experienced new personnel. Therefore, they have a lot of work cut out for them in this regard.

structure and easing bureaucratic bottlenecks. Another shortcoming comes in the form of inadequate tourist destinations that give tourists immersive experience into the culture and social settings of the Sidama nationality. It is imperative to inaugurate villages for immersive experience, and the project in Tabor is a good start in this aspect as Mr. Melkamu applauded. By coupling this effort with efficient destination marketing strategy, the city of Hawassa can become a prime choice of tourist destination in Africa.

Effective leadership is also another area of challenge that needs attention. Excellent leadership will propel the tourism sector by facilitating organizational

Collecting feedback from customers is key if any service provider aims to develop and improve its services. Haile Resort - Hawassa carefully collects this

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valuable information through feedback cards that are placed in reception and guest rooms. Other feedback collection mechanisms include feedback forms on different online booking sites such as Tripadvisor and expedia.

The resort carefully analyzes this information and uses them to improve its customer service and handling.

Haile Hospitality Group has now 4 new projects in Konso, Wolaita Sodo, Addis Ababa and Debre Birhan. It looks forward to increase the number of chain hotels and resorts under its operation to 20.

Extending the service numbers of recreational activities in the adult and children entertainments is currently the main task of the

resort. In order to secure a 5-star rating tweaking some minor details will be necessary and such improvement projects are underway.

The effect of COVID-19 has ravaged the hotel and tourism industry and shook it to its core. In those trying times Haile Resort - Hawassa employed a COVID resiliency strategy in an effort to keep the business going. These strategies include operating with minimal man power and operational costs, engaging employees in other house-keeping and maintenance works, and focusing on local business travellers and tourists.

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corporate social responsibilities, the resort hands out scholarships for 15-20 students annually at its hotel management and operation school. It has also been engaging in rebuilding homes of elderly people, organizing blood donation events every 3 months, and building schools. The Haile foundation which will be launched soon will be a statement in the hospitality group’s commitment to take its social responsibility firmly. The foundation aims to dedicate some percentage of profit from the different businesses of Major Athlete Haile Gebreselassie for philanthropic purposes. Haile Resort - Hawassa was also engaged in pollution prevention initiatives for Lake Hawassa in collaboration with GIZ for 4 years which amounts

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As the birthplace of Coffee, Ethiopia has a reputation of supplying the finest coffee beans to the international market.

Beans from this naturally endowed country are consumed widely all over the world. Ethiopia produces and Deliver different flavour and aroma, with the cup profiles of each beans differing considerably.

As per 2018 report, Ethiopia is the sixth largest Arabic coffee producer, with the industry employing 20% of Ethiopia’s population. The nation produced approximately 500,000 tons of green coffee in the crop year 2019/20, of which about 275,000 metric tonnes is exported different foreign countries and the remaining quantity (45%) is consumed locally.

Coffee is intertwined into Ethiopia’s social fabric for thousands of years. It has remained a bonding factor and a means of socialization. People of a given neighbourhood gather together and discuss over their personal and social matters on the coffee ceremony. It has been used as a living newspaper for the neighbourhood.

The coffee ceremony is thus well-honoured tradition in Ethiopia. People from various regions consume coffee varieties such as Sidama, Yirgacheffe, Kaffa, Lekempti ,Guji, Limmu, Harrar and others. Each region coffee has its own unique taste. ‘Wild coffee’ saw these coffee origins as a way of promoting Ethiopia’s image. Thus, it inaugurated a special Ethiopian origin coffee tasting house where people choose and taste from the varieties of coffee mentioned above.

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Gezahegn Mamo CEO of WILD Coffee

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Gezahegn Mamo is the CEO at WILD Coffee. The company focuses on producing roasted coffee and supplying to local and international markets.

‘Wild Coffee’ got its name from a semi forest and forestgrown coffee type that occupies more than 35% of the coffee plantation in Ethiopia. However, this figure is less than 1% of the coffee circulating in the international market. To give tribute to the organic and untouched form of this special coffee, the name Wild Coffee is selected as a trademark both for the brand and for the coffee tasting house. By using this special brand name, the company blends multiple varieties of coffee such as Sidama, Kaffa, Yirga-Chefe, Guji, Nekemte, Jimma among others.

‘Wild Coffee’ has been making waves in its new style of presentation in which guests from all walks of life can choose and taste from the variety of Ethiopian coffee.

ABN talks to the CEO about the ventures, market, challenges and opportunities that the company has been dealing with since it started operation.

The coffee tasting house started its mission with the aim of introducing Ethiopian coffee to the world. It does so in a similar strategy with the big corporate international coffee brands such as Starbucks by roasting and adding value to the already well-renowned Ethiopian coffee varieties. In doing so, the company has created skilled man power on the sector and it has converted the business to a mechanism of attracting valuable foreign currency to the nation.

Delivering quality product is at the core entity of this highly regarded coffee tasting house. First, the taste of the purchased coffee is checked. Based on the quality of the initial taste, the specifications for the subsequent roasting will be prepared. Then the coffee will be roasted as per the standard of the company and a final tasting and approval will be performed before finished product released to our clients. This two-staged cupping procedure is vital to ensure a quality product is delivered to customers.

Another quality related attribute is that the company uses a standard aluminum foil for packaging which preserves the quality of packaged coffee for a period of 1and half years, Mr. Gezahegn mentioned.

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“Wild Coffee is the first of its kind to be a place for tasting the origins of Ethiopian coffee.”

Wild Coffee is the first of its kind to be a place for tasting the origins of Ethiopian coffee. This means that customers visiting the place do not necessarily order the usual coffee but they will be able to choose and taste from different origins of Ethiopian coffee.

It is also the first in selling exported Ethiopian coffee in foreign currency to tourists thereby aiding the Ethiopian foreign currency system. A new design that illustrates the discovery of coffee by the goatherd Kaldi and how it went global is also on the pipeline as Mr. Gezahegn described.

Wild coffee is currently selling its product for international tourists and guests in foreign currency here in Ethiopia. The company’s primary plan is to attract foreigners including ambassadors, delegates, and tourists of different countries to taste and buy the real Ethiopian coffee on their stay in the country. In order to do this, the company had to convince the National Bank of Ethiopia to allow transactions in foreign currency so that it will allow currency to go directly into the National Bank. This will also prevent transaction of foreign currency in the black market and tourists can spend their currency directly using credit and ATM cards.

The international market demand for Ethiopian coffee is very high. Yet, many people do not know that Ethiopia is the origin and birthplace of coffee.

International coffee purchase Ethiopian coffee and use it as an additive in their blended coffee flavors.

They even go deeper on adding only 15-20 percent of Ethiopian coffee in their brands and label it as Ethiopian coffee.

Wild coffee aims to substitute this skewed reality by introducing pure Ethiopian coffee to the international market. To this end, it has linked with supermarkets in Saudi Arabia,UK,South Africa,Om an,Botswana,Turkey,Mali and further collaboration are on the pipiline in multipel European and African countrys .

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. The American giant supermarket, Wal-Mart, which has more than six thousand branches in America endorsed Wild coffee’s product to be sold on its online platforms. Wild Coffee is also working with the Chinese e-commerce corporate, Alibaba to sell its products online.

To dominate and dictate the international market, coffee producers and processors should have a united institution, Mr. Gezahegn contends. In this manner, coffee manufacturing companies can devise standards and maintain a specific quality of coffee. This will have a positive impact on the quality of processed coffee.

Unfortunately, the majority of coffee exporters in Ethiopia are focused on selling green coffee, and other coffee shops target the local audience. The number of coffee roasting and processing enterprises in the country is not more than 20.

Selling Ethiopian coffee varieties comes with its own challenges and opportunities. As to Mr. Gezahegn, maintaining the brand and quality of the product was the main priority of Wild coffee as it dictates the success and failure of the company. But in the course of production, adequate service personnel have not been acquired as the market needed. This shortcoming is due to the lack of specific disciplines in the hotel and hospitality sector. In order to curb this deficiency, such kind of disciplines should be given due attention, as the CEO pointed out, this is a major drawback that prevents the company from opening more branches in the country.

On the brighter side; however, this specialty coffee tasting house is creating a buzz around the city in its unique services. As such it becomes a tourist destination on its own. The idea of going to an Ethiopian origin coffee tasting house is somehow bizarre, so that people from local and international backgrounds are flocking to this place to see what it has got to offer. Wild coffee hence is living up to the hype and expectations of its audience.

Any company must have a great marketing and promotional strategies. For Wild Coffee, this aspect is entertained after attaining an acceptable and standard quality product. The company promotes itself through 56

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social media, radio and magazines. To make it closer to its international audience, the product is available in more than 9 duty-free shops in Adiss ababa international airports and popular super market in the city “Wild Coffee have plan to collaborate with Ethioholiday and Ethiopian Tourism Commission in a special arrangement to reserve table whenever tourist visit Ethiopia” As a tourist destination on its own, “Wild Coffee have plan to collaborate with Ethio-holiday and Ethiopian Tourism Commission in a special arrangement to reserve table whenever tourist visit Ethiopia” . Wild coffee is becoming one of tourist destinations so that Ethiopian coffee varieties can be promoted.

The impact of COVID-19 has also helped the company to shift its focus to the desires of tourists since foreigners were more likely to purchase packed products contrary to locals who tended to purchase green coffee and consume it in their households. The predicament clearly showed where the company’s market should focus on, and it was seen as an important benchmark in identifying plausible change on the market.

In a short span, Wild coffee aims to extend its branches at different locations in Addis Ababa. Some of the targeted locations are Diplomat Branch around Sarbet, City Branch around Bole-Medhanealem, and Old City Branch around Piassa. Other branches will be franchised to interested parties based on pre-conditions set by the company.

Currently, more than 18 investors are willing to franchise locally, and other areas of opportunities are being monitored in the UAE and US. Operating successfully requires the utmost attention and support from the government. To this end, Wild coffee always wants to expand its projects and formally requested to get working area/ land. However, the request was handed to the responsible government body. Mr. Gezahegn also bemoans the lack of incentives and packages that are lavishly extended to other foreign investors claiming that this kind of act discourages local investors and the concerned body should address these issues in the short run.

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Henok Seyoum :

Veteran Tour and

Travel Journalist

By Staff Writer The tourism sector in Ethiopia has for long been going through various challenges such as lack of destination development, public awareness, shortage of skilled human power and lack of sound tourism policy and strategy, among others. But many argue that if the Government of Ethiopia shows dedication and political commitment, the tourism sector could contribute significantly to the national socio-economic development.

This time around the political will of the government and the participation and engagement of private sector in tourism development appear to be very promising as compared to the period before three years.

ABN speaks to Henok Seyoum, a dedicated national traveller, writer and tourism journalist, on overall tourism development of the country and the 2021 World Tourism Day.

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“

The sector used to embrace incompetent individuals.

The political landscape, moreover, undermined national pride and feeling.

It was also divisive, standing against tourism development.”

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Henok Seyoum Dedicated national traveller, writer and tourism journalist

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ABN;Let’s begin with how you began experiencing Ethiopia, how you get inspired to dedicate your life to Ethiopian tourism sector?

Henok: The way I grew up is closely associated with tour and travel. A couple of decades ago Addis Ababa had been surrounded by densely populated forest.

I used to walk long distance from my birthplace called ‘Zenebwork’ to Wechecha Mariam, Repi Holy Savior, and Hana Mariam churches for worshipping and visiting. This passion and dedication has grown through time, and help me become a tour and travel journalist right now.

ABN;As a traveler and tourist destination researcher and writer, how do you describe the tourism potential of the country, and assess the tourism development?

Henok: It’s not just a cliché that we say “Ethiopia is a blessed nation.” Our tourism brand tells us something concrete. Many countries have their own tourism brands, but the brands remain inactive practically.

For instance, various countries with a motto: “Land of Beauty” could be argued for what beauty means. Similarly, countries with mottos: Land of Happiness, Land of Love, of Heritage and of Culture could be questioned by others.

Let’s take our country Ethiopia with a tourism motto: “Land of Origin” You can experience the highest point in the country, Simien Mountains, in northern Ethiopia, northeast of Gonder, the highest peak in Ethiopia at 14,872 feet (4,533 metres).

The region is the site of Simien Mountains National Park, which is home to a number of very rare species that include the walia ibex, found nowhere else in the world. If one goes down to the Danakil Depression in Afar

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Regional State, one could be incredibly mesmerized by the natural beauty there.

Beyond its fascinating geology, the Danakil holds the keys to some of biology’s most profound questions. In 1974, researchers found the remains of Lucy in the Danakil Depression, an early ancestor of modern humans dating back 3.2 million years.

The acidic springs of the Dallol Crater have attracted scientists in the search for extremophile microbes as they seek to understand the origins of life on Earth.

Visitors can witness amazing natural gifts they cannot see in other part of the world.

Ethiopia still remains to be home to various endemic wild animals such as Chalada baboons and red fox, the origin or birthplace of the wild coffee plant, 'Arabica', the origin of the Blue Nile, longest river of the planet.

The attractive and traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony is enjoyed daily by locals and tourists.

Ethiopia is also believed to be the depository of the lost Biblical Ark of the Covenant, stored in the securely guarded Chapel of the Tablet next to the St. Mary of Zion Church in ancient Aksum. The Nechisar Nightjar, the elusive endemic to NechiSar National Park in southern Ethiopia, is the home to world's rarest bird species. It’s a country called by Prophet Mohammed as a ‘nation of Justice’. Where is the source of the Blue Nile? Which country has its own alphabet?

Which country has got 13 months?

“The sector used to embrace incompetent individuals. The political landscape, moreover, undermined national pride and feeling. It was also divisive, standing against tourism development.”

But my country has got all these gifts that joined the tourism industry with civilization; there are also heritages with ancient history;

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there are heritages with breathtaking natural beauty also. My country is blessed with natural heritages ranging from the coldest and ice-baking mountains and hills to a desert with active volcano.

My country is the water tower of Africa; a nation being built by cultural diversity of over 80 nation, nationalities and peoples. A land of various religious communities initially associated with beliefs of Sons of Abraham, Ethiopia appears to be one of the leading tourism destinations in the international arena.

ABN; Despite the richness of the nation’s tourism potential, and abundant resources, the country has not benefited yet. Therefore, many raise questions about how tourism policies contribute to national development. What do you think is wrong with the existing system?

Henok: Our economy policy had made us think that the nation’s tourism potential is of only tale. The government of Ethiopia had been neglecting the immense tourism potential the country is blessed with, and producing vehicles that have been stranded on the streets. The sector used to embrace incompetent individuals. The political landscape, moreover, undermined national pride and feeling. It was also divisive, standing against tourism development. All these factors had contributed to the deteriorating tourism industry in the country where heritages weren’t developed, parks were not conserved, and Abyssinia Business Network / ABN / 2021

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culture has been political tool over the past many years. A new day has come right now when tourism becomes the language of the palace.

ABN; As tourism continues to become more competitive, governments having to adopt a more entrepreneurial role in attracting not only tourists but also investors to their region. What’s your reflection on this notion with regards to Ethiopia?

Henok: Our biggest problem is lack of putting emphasis on entrepreneurial role of the government in attracting investors in the sector. A tourist who visits a given country can fall in love with that country.

One can also be obsessed with a product imported from a country he/she likes. If we have got a brand “Ethiopian coffee”, it will help avoid the world with question on the country’s whereabouts. Branding is like diplomacy. If we take Egypt, for instance, 10 million tourists flock to the country every year.

Egypt’s stance on the Nile River can be an agenda that can win the hearts and minds of millions who visit that country.

On the contrary, look at our country! When tourism develops the service provider will grow along side.

That will obviously help investment grow, capturing global attention. There are many people who have travelled from one place to another to attend their children’s graduation ceremony or visit relatives in our country and eventually settled and remain investors in those places. The same is true in a global context.

ABN; I think you are one of the few travelers working on the country’s tourism sites promotion, development and related issues. How do you describe efforts being undertaken by regional states and the Federal Government of Ethiopia to harness the untapped potential significantly?

Henok: We have a long way to go. The ideology at 4 kilo palace has not yet been fuelled across all parts of the country. Tourism is not like a policy to be designed at the federal level and implement at grass root level. It demands equal awareness, interest and commitment at destination level.

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If we really want to mention something that is to be recognized and acknowledged, we must witness that Ethiopian Prime Minister has got a very strong conviction and dedication to develop the country’s untapped tourism potential. What he has achieved so far regarding tourism development shows his commitment.

He is pioneer in changing words to action in tourism development. This experience seems to be replicated at other level though not as it should have been.

Most government officials hold belief that tourism is basic issue. The newly launched economic reform, in deed, has put great emphasis on tourism. That’s a very promising move.

ABN; What do you think are the major challenges the tourism sector is facing today in Ethiopia?

Henok: Our tourist destinations have not been developed adequately. For instance, the Gambela National Park could be taken as the biggest in Africa, but there is no access to get there either by car or on foot. It’s shame to tell how few the restrooms at the Semien Mountains Park, which is registered as world heritage, are in number. We would understand the benefit of developing tourist destinations such as Bale Mountains, Arsi Mountains, Gerale, Yangudirasa, Alitash,and Borena Saint as we did the job creations and related activities at Semien Mountains Park.

These destinations need to be developed like the “Gebeta Lehager” project both in scope and attention. The Government should quickly put in place the PublicPrivate Partnership strategy. Without destination development promotion remains good for nothing.

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ABN; What possible solutions do you forward to alleviate those bottlenecks so that the country harvests the fruits of its natural, historical and cultural tourism resources?

Henok: The ongoing public resource mobilization activities need to be strengthened. A lot should be done to preserve those heritages in danger before they are in extinction. Heritages are in precarious condition. The experience and the budget allocation we have gone through won’t take us to where we want to be in tourism prosperity. The financial support and emphasis given to the sector at various levels should be enhanced.

It’s also important to include tourism issues, natural heritages and intangible assets along with cultural values in the national curriculum, and it’s only then that we can produce active citizens who are responsible for the development of the nation.

“This event is celebrated under the theme: Tourism for inclusive and allrounded development. It is painful to witness that over 1oo million people blessed with rich natural and historical resources remain poor. We have to get up and stand up to change this bad image.”

ABN; It’s obvious that currently the nation’s tourism market is highly affected by various factors such as COVID 19 pandemic and sociopolitical unrest in some parts of the country. How optimistic are you in this regard, will things get back to normal?

Henok:

Of

course,

COVID

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pandemic has affected our life. Moreover, the country’s major historical route is in jeopardy due to the current conflict in the area. When both challenges are removed our history will be changed.

The world doesn’t know Ethiopia. It’s a country where only 1 million tourists visit annually. If we work hard, we can change this dark era and pass onto fascinating tourism prosperity. The world will know about us, those who didn’t visit us will visit us. If we make unity and hard-working our principles we can reach where we want to be in short period of time.

ABN;What do you think is the significance of the 2021 World Tourism Day to be celebrated here in Ethiopia, Hawassa town of the SPNNPS?

Firstly, it’s not only experiencing Ethiopia and pay a go-and-back visit but also hold a principle- develop and support. I thank all who have initiated and implemented the theme of the event.

Secondly, it’s celebrated in coordination.

Sidama Region is not visited; we only know Hawassa. We didn’t climb Mount Garaamba. We have not yet visited the Loka Abaya Valley. The region is blessed with amazing cultural and natural landscape. The 2021 World Tourism Day can create good opportunity to experience of the region.

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Henok: The Sidama Regional State hosts the event. Thanks to honorable Tadelech Dalocho, who has transformed the event to another significant chapter by shifting the celebration from bicycle riding at Meskel Square to experiencing the country. This year’s celebration is different from the previous ones.

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ABN; What key messages do you want to convey to readers of ABN concerning this global event?

Henok: This event is celebrated under the theme: Tourism for inclusive and all-rounded development. It is painful to witness that over 1oo million people blessed with rich natural and historical resources remain poor. We have to get up and stand up to change this bad image. All need to share their contribution to the development of the industry.

The other most important issue we need to emphasize is local tourism.

It needs to be promoted; tourism build nation. If we want to build the nation, we shouldn’t shy away from developing tourism. This is not an industry I joined accidentally; I have dedicated all my youth hood, physical being and life the sector. I envision a nation free from tourism illiteracy through nation building and development.

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Crawling out of

Major Setback

By Samuel Teka

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive social and economic impact. Both developed and developing economies have been hit. And marginalized groups and the most vulnerable have been hit hardest of all.

The restart of tourism will help kick start recovery and growth. It is essential that the benefits this will bring are enjoyed widely and fairly. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has therefore designated World Tourism Day 2021 as a day to focus on “Tourism for Inclusive Growth.”

UNWTO as the United Nations specialized agency for responsible and sustainable tourism, is guiding the global sector towards inclusive recovery and growth.

UNWTO ensures every part of the sector has a say in its future – including communities, minorities, youth and those who would otherwise be at risk of being left behind.

Tourism is a recognized pillar of most – if not all – the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), particularly Goals 1 (no poverty), 5 (gender equality), 8 (decent work and economic growth) and 10 (reduce inequalities). Help us to promote this International Day and the value of tourism through our promotional material (images, graphics and social media logos), participate in our photographic initiative or publish your event through the website of the UNWTO. ABN looks into socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on tourism and the way forward.

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The Export revenues from tourism could fall by $910 billion to $1.2 trillion in 2020.

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Tourism as an act of recreation and pleasure-seeking, is a product of modern social arrangements, beginning in Western Europe in the 17th century. It started mainly as “Heritage tourism” in which visiting historical landscapes was widely regarded as sole feature of tourism. Since then, the word tourism has expanded into multiple facets.

In the modern world, it has overlapped with different forms of activities and interests such as pilgrimage and has given rise to medical tourism, business tourism, sports tourism, and medical tourism. Organized with effective travel and accommodation systems, it can contribute greatly to nations’ GDP. In the contemporary world, international tourism has become one of the most important and highly sought economic activities, having magnanimous impacts on economies of multiple countries with some attributing as much as 80% of their GDP to this sector. Fuelled by the advancement of travel technology, tourism is becoming an increasingly sophisticated intensive, commercially organized, businessoriented set of activities.

World tourism has shown dramatic increment in the number of people moving across nations and borders since the era of globalization changed how people moved and interacted in multi-cultural settings. Consequently, the number of tourists has risen from 25 million in the 1950s to 1.4 billion per year in 2018.

Europe, specifically France, is the most visited place in the world followed by Latin America, Asia, Middle East and Africa. Year after year, the number of tourists across the world has shown an upward increment until the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a health and economic crises that has resulted in catastrophic effects on developing countries dependent on the sector. In efforts to keep the safety of their populations, governments implemented strict measures such as quarantines, lockdowns, and major restrictions on national and international mobility.

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Together with the decision of tourists not to travel internationally, this has resulted in the contraction of the tourism sector. Severe economic crises followed especially on countries heavily reliant on tourism.

According to the UNWTO dashboard, the number of international tourist arrivals declined by 74 per cent in 2020 compared with the previous year. In many developing countries, arrivals were down by 8090 per cent. This number has worsened for most tourist hotspots, with an average decline of 88 percent as compared to pre-pandemic level, albeit it is expected that northern summer and autumn may see a significant improvement for some destinations, in particular for domestic and regional travel.

The indirect effects of this decline are even more devastating, as labor and capital remain unused and the lack of demand for intermediate goods and services has a negative upstream effect into many sectors.

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Tourist Arrivals for the years 2019 and 2020 (in Thousands) Sensitive in its nature, tourism is one of the sectors most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected economies, livelihoods, public services and opportunities on all continents negatively. All parts of its vast value-chain have been affected.

It was estimated that the Export revenues from tourism could fall by $910 billion to $1.2 trillion in 2020.

Hence, this will eventually contract global GDP by 1.5% to 2.8%. The sector also supports 1 in 10 jobs and as such 100-120 million people who rely on the benefits of tourism have been directly affected.

Africa on the Receiving End In Africa, tourism plays an important economic role in many countries.

In 2019 alone, Africa received 71.2

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million international arrivals amounting to about USD 40 billion in revenue. Compared to the previous year this figure represents a 4 percent growth in arrivals.

Preferred for its sunny beaches, ecotourism products, national parks and safaris and exotic culture and food, Africa is increasingly becoming a destination of choice for many international tourists. Unfortunately, this burgeoning industry may not reach its projected growth of between 3 to 5% due to the impact of COVID-19.

Although there have been fears that the COVID pandemic would ravage Africa due to its poor health

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facilities, population concentrations in slum and urban settlements, inadequate supply of personal protective equipment, the continent has astonishingly surpassed widespread expectations and remained one of the least impacted in terms of infections and deaths. The efforts of some countries to safeguard the health of their populations were commended by experts.

The tourism industry has been heavily hit by the pandemic since freedom of movement was halted impacting people’s economic lives and reducing foreign income.

With the closure international borders arrivals have tremendously decreased. The UNWTO estimates that tourist arrivals in Africa have decreased by 35% between Januarys to April 2020 as a result of the pandemic. Tourist hotspots such

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as, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Gambia which are heavily dependent on the expenditure of international tourists have witnessed a decline in tourism-based foreign income.

Tourism businesses were forced to close down either as a result of internal measures to help stop the spread of the coronavirus or directly as a result of the absence of tourists. Hence, the closure of tourism businesses such hotels, attractions, travel and tour operations, food and beverage services and other support businesses resulted in excessive job losses across the tourism industry in Africa. Both direct jobs that are primarily targeted at serving tourists and those in the value chain have all been impacted.

Ultimately, the down turn in the tourism businesses resulted in reduced corporate and individual income tax revenue to African governments and thereby strained their abilities to provide the required services and infrastructure. To curb the effect of the pandemic, African economies resorted to loans, compounding their debt burden and potentially perpetuating their poverty cycle. For instance, South Africa and Ghana both took loans of 4.3 and 1 billion USD from the IMF.

Policies, Way Forward As the world settles back to its pre-COVID conditions, the weak tourist confidence and the downturn in economic impacts presents

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Ethiopia saw increment in its tourism flow for multiple consecutive years. The tourist inflow peaked in 2017, when more than 933,000 people visiting the nation. However, this number decreased to 849,000 in 2018 and 812,000 the following year attributing to the country’s instability and domestic violence.

With the COVID impacting the nation heavily, this number decreased significantly from 2019 onwards, impacting both the jobs related to tourism and the income it generates.

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challenges that need to be dealt with effectively.

Supporting the millions of live¬lihoods that depend on tourism that has been heavily affected by a period of dormancy, and building a sustain¬able and responsible travel safe for communities, workers and travellers is key to accelerating a fast recovery. To this end, policies that direct towards recovery need to be devised.

Harnessing innovation and digitalization, embracing local values, and creating decent jobs for all, especially for youth, women and the most vulnerable groups should be given due attention for the sector’s recovery. Scholars contend that the sector needs to advance efforts to build a new model that promotes partnerships, and place people involved directly or indirectly at the center of development.

Governments of Africa should institute safety measures that guarantee the safety of both tourists and employees. Tourism facilities can also offer discounts or additional services to attract customers. Further, there should be aggressive marketing of African destinations in international settings.

Advancing in innovation and digital transformation of tourism is another topic that should be given attention in the recovery policies of African nations. Improving the digital knowledge of workers in the tourism industry should be given proper attention.

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The policies of African nations should focus on different cross-cutting areas covering wide ranges of parties. They should focus on mitigating socioeconomic impacts especially on women and youth employment. Through promotion of domestic and regional tourism, competitiveness and resilience of the tourism economy can be built. Hence, small and medium enterprises should be facilitated.

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Tourism is directly related to protecting and promoting the environment. As such recovery policies should be able to foster sustainability and green growth to shift towards a resilient, competitive, resource efficient and carbon-neutral tourism sector. These include investments in renewable energy, smart buildings and the circular economy, among others.

On this World Tourism Day, the COVID-19 pandemic represents an opportunity to rethink the future of the tourism sector. Tourism has a unique ability to make sure nobody is left behind, as recognized by the Second Principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs.

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Ge'ez Watch:

Depicting History

By Mekdes Paulos The history of the watch started with the so-called quadrans, a disc which could be determined on the basis of protractors what time it was. The first mechanical clocks which were accurate enough worked with a pendulum. This clock needed to hang quietly, so it was not suitable for sea or pocket.

The wristwatch was invented at the end of the 19th century and mainly seen as a woman’s jewellery. The First World War had a profound influence on the history of the watch. Soldiers started to wear watches on the wrist, so they could read time more quickly in the heat of the battle. With this came also the demand for quality watches.

The first quartz watch was just created mid-19th century. This watch, powered by battery, almost meant the demise of the traditional watchmakers. Because the quartz watch is a lot cheaper than a mechanical watch.

There are thousands of models and designs on the market. Since the invention of the quartz clock, the smart watch will be the next big step of the watch. Time will tell how long it will take before these machines have the upper hand on our wrist. Find out what the characteristics are of a good quality watch or discover all men’s watches or women watches.

ABN’s Mekdes Paulos looks into the establishment and operation of a uniquely Ethiopian watch importing company called Geez Watch. Alula Zewdu Belete, 33, is the owner of Geez Watch. He has been involved in the business world for almost six years now. He holds a Bachelors’ Degree in Medical Laboratory and Biomedical Engineering. He was involved in medical equipment repair, installation, and troubleshooting during his career as a medical expert.

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“ Our watches are also accessible in Bole International Airport, duty-free station to reach out foreigners.

Geez watch recognizes customers by designating them our brand ambassadors whenever they acquire our items and use them."

Ge'ez Watch

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Alula Zewdu Managing Director of Ge'ez Watch

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Technological sophistication, superior quality, enhanced designs, and craftsmanship. The global watch industry led by many top-notch watch companies and watch brands has always been focused on innovations and evolution that inspire consumers to spend more on luxurious watches.

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and its access through personal computers, smartphones, and tablets has led to the popularity of online platforms for buying products across categories and watches are no exception to this.

Vendors such as Swatch and Fossil have strong sales through Internet retailing, and this trend is expected to drive global watch market growth during the forecast period.

“In 1893 E.C the then Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II was the first person in Ethiopia to wear the first Geez watch.

The fact that Menelik ordered the first Geez watch motivated the company to keep the history alive.”

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The business for Geez watch has to take the lead with this historical outcome as an enormous inspiration.

The other reason why the company with a language unique elements get to start is that Geez is an ancient Semitic language with its own script and is over 2000 years old. It uses the 'Abugida' writing system and is mainly used in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

“Initially, it was difficult to break into the Ethiopian watch industry. However, it has resulted in promising advertisements and customers for the company over time.” Alula recalled.

“In 1893 E.C the then Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II was the first person in Ethiopia to wear the first Geez watch. The fact that Menelik ordered the first Geez watch motivated the company to keep the history alive.”

Depending on the watch component, Geez watch is imported from different nations. Geez Watch is a unique form of watch with Geez time counting numbers and also includes a feature to count days in Ethiopia's Calendar. There is also a product, Geez Ring in this company.

It includes the name of the weekdays in Amharic and the number of the 13-month Ethiopian calendar in Geez as a whole. Besides the Geez number, the unique character of the watches is that they contain Geez Calendar on the watch’s day display.

In 1893 E.C the then Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II was the first person in Ethiopia to wear the first Geez watch. The fact that Menelik ordered the first Geez watch motivated the company to keep the 78

history alive. It was difficult at first to find well-trained and educated experts in the business.

As a result, the company provided initial training for employees to repair watches in order to deliver quality service.

ambassadors whenever they acquire our items and use them."

According to Alula, the products of Geez watch are imported.

Geez Watches are crafted from premium raw materials and constructed with remarkable attention to detail. All the designs are made of stainless steel and gold-plated case and have genuine leather straps.

The glass is mineral glass, has 3 ATM water resistance, has a two-year warranty of battery, and is branded elegantly.

The mission of the company is to reach out to the global community and the fashion world by representing Ethiopia and its unique calendar in Geez through its brand Geez watches.

The company has been in operation for six years now.

Initially, the business was founded on the online market.

However, the company then opened a shop to better serve its clients. The shop which is located at Zefmesh grand mall, Yeka District, Megenanga roundabout, Addis Ababa has been open for two years now. The main customers of the company are both local and foreigners.

In terms of age, their customers range from 25 to 45 years old in both sexes, and also those who follow fashion and admire geez language.

"Our watches are also accessible in Bole International Airport, duty-free station to reach out foreigners. Geez watch recognizes customers by designating them our brand

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Geez watch has 3 various catalogs.

Each one has 5 different watches with color options of spare wrist bands, totaling 15 types of watches.

The company currently employs ten full-time employees, including sales and maintenance personnel.

Because the company's products are luxurious, its success can be regarded to be in its early stages.

However, it has been widely embraced by the community as a whole. There are plans for the company to franchise in countries other than Ethiopia in the future.

The company has an online ordering website (www.geezwatches.com).

Geez Watch items are available anywhere in the world where DHL can deliver. Local clients can also contact Geez watches via their telegram bot system (@ Geezwatches).

In five years, the business intends to partially construct the watches in Ethiopia while in the long run, it plans to fully assemble the watches in Ethiopia and introduce more products of various accessories.

This not only helps with foreign exchange concerns, but also has the potential to provide job opportunities.

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Ethiopian:

In Sync with Tourism Industry

By Staff Writer Ethiopian, is Ethiopia's stateowned flag carrier airlines.

Inaugurated on 21 December 1945 and commenced operations on 8 April 1946, the airlines begun stretching its wings to international destinations in 1951. Carrying the slogan The New Spirit of Africa, it is now celebrating its 75th year since it started operation. As of June 2020, the carrier served 127 international, 22 domestic passenger destinations, and 58 cargo destinations.

Ethiopian serves more destinations in Africa than any other airline. It is an African giant by being the largest on the continent in terms of passengers carried, fleet size, revenues and destinations served.

It is also the world’s 4th largest airline by the number of countries served. Widely considered as one

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of the best managed state-owned airlines in the world, Ethiopian has expanded its horizon of operations from time to time.

In line with this, the airline is working to promote Ethiopian tourism efforts. To this end, it has designed a new feature termed Ethiopian holiday in which it offers 10 tourist packages each of which give different memories and experiences of Ethiopia.

These tour packages are cultural tours, historical tours, Nature and adventure tours, stopover tours, trekking and hiking tours, festival tours, bird watching tours, leisure tours, coffee tours and biking tours.

In the cultural tour, visitors get to see the beautiful southern culture of the Mursi tribe, known for their lip plates, earlobes, The Hamar,

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and The Karo tribe who are known for attractive body painting for a period of 5-6 days. This tour also includes the Ethiopian cultural food tour in which tourists get to taste the staple food of Ethiopia Injera, accompanied by other stews such as shiro, tibs, key wot and others.

The historical tour is also another package that lets tourists visit the UNESCO world heritage sites such as the lalibela rock-hewn churches, the Fasiledes palace, Axum and other 8 historical sites.

The prominent national parks of Awash, Bale and Semien along with the sulfur and potash deposit site of Dallol and Erta ale also present fascinating experience for nature lovers. These sites are included in the nature and adventure tours and the trekking and hiking packages with 3-4 days of stay. The stopover

tour gives tourists a taste of Addis Ababa and its newly established parks, and other sites in the vicinity of Addis Ababa.

For those looking to spend leisure time away from the hustle and bustle of Addis Ababa, the leisure tour package is an ideal choice. With weekend getaway and honeymoon sub-packages, it offers tourists both from local and international a memorable experience with friends and loved ones. The biking package and coffee tours also provide an insight into the landscape into the

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Ethiopian highlands and the coffee culture of the nation respectively.

With its ever increasing level of commitment and a desire to bring the best experience to its audience, Ethiopian is intertwining its operation with other cross cutting fields, tourism being one of them.

It is now serving customers with its premium capacity that will long live in their memories as being one of their best experiences and a truly African pride.

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ETHIOPIAN

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Domestic tourism

Vehicle for Socio-economic

and Cultural wellbeing

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According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), tourism entails the movement of people to countries or places outside their usual environment for personal or business/ professional purposes. These people are called visitors. Generally speaking, a visitor is classified as a (same-) day visitor if their trip does not include an overnight stay and a tourist if it does include an overnight stay.

The purpose of their trip can be for business, leisure or personal reasons, other than to be employed by a resident entity in the country or place visited. To better understand their nature, there are three basic forms of tourism: domestic tourism, inbound tourism, and outbound tourism and each form are defined as follow.

• Domestic tourism means visits within a country by visitors who are residents of that country.

• Inbound tourism means visits to a country by visitors who are not residents of that country.

• outbound tourism means visits by residents of a country outside that country Why Domestic Tourism?

While countries often tend to focus on international tourism due to the revenue earned through exports, domestic tourism remains the leading form of tourism,

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Indeed, this is contrary to post-modern theorization that conceptualizes tourism as an engagement and experience where a person taking a moment to view different scenes out of their ordinary life are also tourists this includes both the international and domestic tourists. This article mainly focuses on the nature and benefits of domestic tourism in relation to Ethiopia.

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Most scholars and other tourism stakeholders portray tourism as a concept foreign to ‘natives’ and brought about by the adventurous, wondrous, and innocent leisure seeking relatively rich foreigner.

This popularized conceptualization of tourism gives the notion of a ‘real’ tourist being someone who is foreign to a particular destination.

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representing an important tool for regional economic growth and development. With over 50% of the global population now categorized as “middle class” or “rich”, more and more people can afford to travel.

It is also natural to discuss at a global level to tend toward focusing on international tourism, domestic tourism is clearly a key driving force in the sector. And it’s a strong force, which has several benefits and advantages that should not be neglected, but not limited to seasonality.

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much more widely across the country’s regions and towns, and in the process support the transfer of skills and pride of the craft through generations.

International tourism in many destinations can be quite seasonal, with high peaks in demands and low seasons when infrastructure is empty and workers struggle to find sufficient work. Domestic tourism can provide a useful stabilizing role, as it spreads more evenly through the year. Global researches has shown that domestic tourism makes a substantial contribution to the industry’s overall financial resilience, sustainability, and functionality in fact many tourism businesses would not survive if it were not for the year round patronage of domestic visitors.

Precursor to international tourism development for destinations that are working towards building up an offer as an international tourism destination, domestic tourists can serve as an important starting place. Tourism Organizations in different parts of the glob have seen several advantages in the strengthening of domestic tourism for the industry as a whole. When domestic tourism begins to grow, people are seen to develop a greater belief in it and gain a sense of national pride. This pride can encourage locals to go out of their way to ensure that tourists enjoy their stay by providing friendly service and knowledgeable information. Domestic tourism also has the potential to expand the industry through encouraging entrepreneurs to invest in industries and protecting local historical and cultural assets so that they become or remain tourist-generating sites.

Distribution of tourism

Shock absorber

Likewise, domestic tourists often travel to places beyond the key highlights that are the mainstay of foreign travellers’ itineraries. As such, they also help in spreading the benefits of tourism through the country more evenly, rather than keeping them concentrated in a few tourism hotspots that make an important contribution in spreading

Especially in times when foreign tourists are staying away due to pandemic, natural or manmade disaster and crises, domestic tourism can keep a destination going and cushion the effect of a crisis. Tourism product such as accommodation can be maintained with limited deterioration from disuse, and at least some of those Abyssinia Business Network / ABN / 2021

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employed in tourism can continue to earn a livelihood by providing services for domestic tourists. In this way, once the destination strengthens as an international destination, the products and services are already in place and ready.

Economic Impact Absolute size of Travel & Tourism’s domestic spending in 2017, domestic tourism represented 73% of the total global tourism spend (US$3,971 billion). While there are significant variations between countries, domestic contributions to Travel & Tourism reached 94% in Brazil and 87% in India, Germany, China and Argentina; with China accounting for 62% of global absolute growth in domestic spending over the past ten years. China and US Jointly, these two accounts for over 40% of world’s total domestic Travel & Tourism spending.

This shows the vital role domestic tourism is playing in the economy.

Domestic Tourism in Ethiopia Developing Domestic tourism in Ethiopia benefits the country economically and beyond, below is the summary of why there is a need for urgent action for all stakeholders regarding domestic tourism.

• It helps to recover the tourism sector that is highly affected by the Covid 19 pandemic and security situation of Ethiopia.

• Promotes Ethnic and Religious Tolerance, Domestic tourism helps to producing social and cultural benefits for the domestic population who might not otherwise be able to experience the cultural and natural richness of their own countries.

• Builds our understanding about themselves and build up and strengthen national fraternity as travelling contributes to self-enrichment.

• Enabling residents who have growing 86

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disposable incomes and leisure time to participate in productive and satisfying experiences. As leisure time, disposable incomes and higher levels of education increase, so does the need for a broader array of leisure experiences.

• Domestic tourism is a potential contributor to the quality of life of resident populations, if it is carefully planned and properly delivered.

• Gradually introducing the domestic travel sector organizations to the critical management and quality requirements needed to compete effectively in the international market • Re-distributing wealth within the nation's boundaries. This re-distribution can be targeted to encourage the transfer of currency and other physical and human resources from relatively affluent portions of the country to economically less prosperous regions, through strategically focused domestic tourism program.

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The MICE Industry:

An Overview MICE, an acronym stands for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions, is a form of business tourism bringing together professionals from every sector in an enhanced, tailormade hospitality setting. Meetings are usually held in hotel conferences rooms or convention centers. These events bring together professionals in addressing key challenges of their organizations. Incentives are travel rewards given by companies for their employees in order to gain loyalty.

collaborative efforts of public and private sectors to qualify the value, influence, and impact that business events produce throughout the world. Existing studies on the impacts of business events in 15 countries, as well as third-party industry data across more than 180 countries were analyzed.

Some of the findings of the direct impacts of global business events (in 2017) were that the number of participants in business events involved was more than 1.5 billion across 180 countries.

The direct spending in business events generated more than 1.07 trillion USD. This figure represents spending to plan and produce business events, business events-related travel, and other direct spending, such as spending by exhibitors.

Hotels, resorts and hospitality venues benefit from the incentives business travelers get as they are converted both into a source of income and foreign currency generation. Conferences are designed to bring large group of professionals from companies across several days. Exhibitions are events that gather several business firms to promote and sell their products and image and help employees to network and build lasting professional relationships. As such, the MICE industry is gaining With regards to Direct GDP a growing recognition as a form of (gross domestic product) and tourism worldwide. employment, business events supported 10.3 million direct In November 2018 the Events Industry jobs globally and generated Council (EIC) released a study on 621.4 billion USD of direct GDP. the global economic significance On average 704 USD was spent of business events, conducted by per business event participant Oxford Economics through the globally; in Africa this was US$ 88

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290 per participant. The global business events sector has proved to be a powerful economic stimulator with a far-reaching economic multiplier effect. It is a labor intensive industry that creates jobs; it is a significant earner of foreign exchange, generates substantial tax revenues for governments and stimulates development.

M I C E

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The Status quo, Future of MICE As of first two quarters of 2020, the MICE industry has been filled with uncertainty as the far-reaching effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have been felt across the globe. Almost every meeting in the world has been cancelled or postponed, resulting in the end of most of the work and consequent livelihood for meeting professionals and the meetings of value chain suppliers. WTTC predicted losses of up to 23% (up to US$ 2.1 trillion) in GDP and 23% in jobs (up to 75 million), five times greater than the 2008 global financial crisis will be incurred in the travel and tourism industry for the year 2020.

However, the MICE sector is a people’s business; human interactions and personal relationships are the very core of what business events are about.

The number one reason people attend

events is to connect with others in their communities; businesses understand that live meetings and face-to-face interactions are required to grow and thrive.

Content is crucial, but networking has proved to be a key driver for hosting meetings, ability to encourage collaborations.

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the end of live meetings. This history, and the fact that faceto-face delivers the most effect business outcomes, suggests that business events will reboot after the pandemic crisis passes.

“In readiness for the sector’s recovery, the industry should prepare by understanding industry trends, implementing staff training, investing in virtual meetings technology and venue improvements, and communications.”

Its focus is to document and communicate the diverse values of the industry to the broader community and governmental audiences in order to generate greater appreciation for the sectors roles and outcomes in supporting global economic, academic, professional and social development beyond its support of travel and hospitality supply chains.

Face-to-face meetings have been pronounced as under threat in the past; for example, when video conferencing started years ago some predicted it would mean

A positive rebound in the MICE sector is predicted and even thought to be the fast track channel to a global recovery (JMIC1) as long as government

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organizations ensure that the industry is fit to deliver – particularly because the sector is dependent upon a myriad of self employed event professionals and a workforce that is largely formed by small to medium size enterprises.

In readiness for the sector’s recovery, the industry should prepare by understanding industry trends, implementing staff training, investing in virtual meetings technology and venue improvements, and communications. In a Pre-C19 article titled “What’s coming up in 2020 – Top 5 conferencing trends” that appeared in Headquarters Magazine in January 2020, the following were listed as strategies to focus on for the new decade: • Live Streaming Technology offers a wealth of benefits within the conferencing industry, helping create an overall superior delegate experience. The use of live streaming is becoming increasingly popular as it offers the ability to widen the audience through online attendance, whilst also being able to measure the audience demographics more efficiently.

• Sustainability The move to more sustainable events is a long-term commitment that will continue to be a high priority in the future. The industry will increasingly need to take into account the social, environmental, economic and cultural responsibilities of their events, which will allow them to be operated in a more sustainable way.

Within the industry, food is one of the most important elements for any event; organizers should opt for suppliers that favor locally sourced and seasonal ingredients, in addition to catering to special dietary requirements that is more important than ever, including vegan and vegetarian that are becoming increasingly popular choices within the conferencing industry.

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• Choice of catering

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• Wellbeing The trend of well-being across all sectors is no longer a passing phase, but is becoming increasingly more important within many industries, and will continue to grow. Organizers should plan to include the use of outdoor venues within an event as well as creative activities for delegates arranged before, during or after the event that have a positive impact on the wellbeing of attendees.

• Room design Innovative room design has the potential to facilitate networking, enhance collaboration and improve information processing, which will in turn assist in creating an overall successful event. Meeting spaces will continue to play a hugely crucial role whereby offering a flexible learning space, the use of technology and a creative space, conferences will be able to increase their ability to encourage collaborations.

Ethiopia - Industry Overview Whilst Ethiopia has enormous potential with its rich natural and cultural resources, offering of market-ready MICE product and facilities (venues/hotels), Ethiopian Airlines and international air hub, home of the AU and UNECA, it is still for the most part in the early stages of development from a MICE perspective. Its challenges are broad and long-standing issues facing the country such as lack of or poor quality of some infrastructure, security and image perceptions from the past, limited value chain structures tailored specifically to the sector, lack of industry knowledge and MICE technical skills.

The main focus areas for Ethiopia’s competitiveness enhancement in the near term that can be addressed by Ethiopian Convention Bureau/ECB/ relate to engaging private sector so as to build the industry collaboratively to be much stronger, as well as increased focus on sales, marketing and research. Areas within the destination whereby ECB can play an enabling role to improve competitiveness are:

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“ The outcomes of the situation analysis and feasibility study indicate positively that Ethiopia has the potential to be positioned as a significant MICE destination of reference in East Africa, and to target positioning Addis Ababa as the number 1 city in Africa by 2030.”

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“The outcomes of the situation analysis and feasibility study indicate positively that Ethiopia has the potential to be positioned as a significant MICE destination of reference in East Africa, and to target positioning Addis Ababa as the number 1 city in Africa by 2030.”

Destination appeal and image - This is an area where significant intervention could have immediate positive impact. Ethiopia is not a ‘top-of-mind’ meetings destination nor enjoys the reputation it deserves.

• ECB must take advantage of the stable political and security environment in positioning the destination to the global MICE marketplace.

• A MICE brand positioning and marketing collateral for Ethiopia needs to be developed by ECB and communicated effectively to target markets.

Meeting facilities: venues and accommodation - Ethiopia has a good range of purpose-built, market ready facilities that can immediately serve the requirements of an international or regional meeting buyer, examples of which are the Skylight Hotel and Conference Centre, AU and UNECA convention centers and the Addis Africa International Convention and Exhibition Centre (currently under construction) facilities that fall into the larger capacity category. A great number of high and middle-end hotel venues with a capacity up to 500 are also available and market ready.

- ECB can engage with private sector

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to ensure international standard grading is applied to current facilities.

- ECB’s strategy must concentrate sales and marketing efforts on facilities that are market ready and that meet the best practices requirements of the international sector.

Incentive facilities - Ethiopia has a number of excellent attractions, products and experiences that could appeal to the incentive target audience if they were appropriately developed into quality visitor experiences.

- ECB must engage stakeholders to review development opportunities (e.g. luxury lodges) and activate appropriate certification of tour operators as DMCs, and packaging into incentive itineraries of the destination’s attractions and product for marketing and sales purposes.

Exhibition facilities - Ethiopia is not believed currently market ready to attract large international exhibitions from a facilities perspective. ECB can support venues and service providers in developing their offering to deliver all round international standard exhibition hosting services.

Industry capacities - The establishment of ECB is a key enabler for the sector to succeed; in addition the Addis Ababa Convention Bureau has been

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MICE

formed. Both CBs require capacity building to deliver the sector to its full potential. A private sector MICE industry association linking industry service providers and suppliers together has recently been formed (i.e. Ethiopian Event and Exhibition Organizers Association - EEEOA).

The organization plays a pivotal role in delivering successful events for clients, and is crucial to building capacities, and raising standards and confidence with international meeting buyers.

ECB must play an enabling role in building private sector industry skills, engagement, capacities and certification to international standards so as to safeguard the destination’s reputation in the global marketplace.

Areas where Ethiopia compares favorably are its air access, offering of market ready MICE venues and accommodation facilities, government support of the sector and size of the local host community. Areas where it compares less favorably with competitors are in local MICE expertise and service delivery, collaboration between public and private sector to develop and promote the destination, and a MICE brand.

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The outcomes of the situation analysis and feasibility study indicate positively that Ethiopia has the potential to be positioned as a significant MICE destination of reference in East Africa, and to target positioning Addis Ababa as the number 1 city in Africa by 2030. Ethiopia’s capacity to attract MICE events has been enhanced by the adoption of the National MICE Vision and Strategy for Addis Ababa, and the establishment of Ethiopia Convention Bureau.

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