African country takes top spot in awards by the European Council on Tourism and Trade. The judging body paid compliments to the country’s nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Last year’s winner was Zimbabwe, after it became the ‘most sought after destination in Africa’. It’s time to brush up on your Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia, because the African nation has been named as the World’s Best Tourism Destination for 2015.
It was given the award by the European Council on Tourism and Trade, who praised its outstanding natural beauty, dramatic landscapes and ancient culture.
Thirty-one countries were considered for the illustrious award this year, with Ethiopia coming top of the pile. Ethiopia has eleven UNESCO World Heritage sites, which were heralded by the commission.
Tourism was defined as a tool for poverty eradication, for local community development and for economic independence is a successful strategy. Ethiopia’s goal is to boost tourist revenues to $3 billion this year – in 2013 revenues from tourism were at $2 billion.
And, if it achieves that, it will start challenging the dominance of regional competition on Africa’s eastern seaboard, such as Kenya and Tanzania. But instead of beach holidays and safaris, land-locked Ethiopia is promoting its imperial past – the below ground 13th century churches of Lalibela, hewn from solid rock, and the hill castles of Gondar – as well as its mountainous and majestic topography. Visitor numbers have risen 12 percent a year in the past decade to reach 600,000 in 2014. The target at the end of this year is one million.
Construction is booming and a metro opens next year, cutting through the sprawling city — the only such network in sub-Saharan Africa. The commission praised the excellent preservation of humanity landmarks such as: ruins of the city of Aksum- the heart of ancient Ethiopia, Fasil Ghebbi- the residence of the Ethiopian emperors during the 16th and 17th century, Harar Jugol- 82 mosques, 102 shrines, and unique interior design in the townhouses and Lalibela – holy site encompassing 11 medieval stone carved churches from the 13th century.
Alongside the metro system in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is building a new railway to a port in neighboring Djibouti and other lines, and will have expanded the road network to 136,000 km (84,400 miles) by the end of this year, from less than 50,000 km in 2010. Hotel firms are also drawn by Ethiopia’s rapid economic growth. The International Monetary Fund saw expansion of 8.5 per cent last year on top of years of double-digit rises.
Senator Ionel Agrigoroaiei, director of European Parliamentary Committee in the European Council on Tourism and Trade said that Ethiopia was the most deserving candidate due to its ‘perfect record of promoting social-friendly tourism, ecological and poverty reduction strategy based on tourism.’
The winner of the award in 2014 was The Republic of Zimbabwe after it become the most sought after destination and the number one country in Africa, in term of tourism growth.
[www.ethpress.gov.et/herald]