Speaking at the 42nd regular session of Parliament, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reported that Ethiopia attracted over 1.3 million international visitors in the past fiscal year.
While this marks a positive trend for the tourism sector, widespread insecurity continues to disrupt local livelihoods and limit the industry’s full potential.
According to thereporterethiopia, the figure, almost 50 percent higher than last year’s, contrasts with accounts from people in the industry, who paint a grim picture of unemployment, dying businesses, and crippling uncertainty.
Many of Ethiopia’s most iconic tourist destinations have seen visitor numbers fall as a result of conflict and insecurity. In the Amhara region, where fighting between federal forces and local militia groups is entering its third year, sites like the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela are seeing only a trickle of tourists where there was once a steady and growing flow.
Other destinations in northern Ethiopia, such as the historic city of Axum, face a similar situation, while tourism figures in the south are also experiencing a sharp decline, according to industry sources.
“It has become difficult to travel in many parts of Ethiopia because of security issues and now because we need special permits to visit provinces like Tigray,” a European diplomat residing in Addis Ababa told this journalist, requesting anonymity. “That has made me less willing to travel and enjoy the country.”
Turmi, a locale in the far southern corner of Ethiopia, not far from the popular town of Jinka and the fabled Omo National Park, appeared deserted when the writer visited the area recently. The tourists who once sustained business in the area have all but disappeared, and even Turmi’s most popular attractions, like Paradise Lodge, were nearly empty.
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Managers there told this journalist they depend on proceeds from organizing and hosting local administrative conferences to stay afloat.
A tour guide who once earned a dependable income from tourism in Turmi says visitors have grown rare, while unemployment has skyrocketed, worsening poverty.
“It’s not just in Turmi. It’s in every part of the region, forcing many of us to abandon the profession and look for opportunities elsewhere,” said the tour guide.
Managers there told this journalist they depend on proceeds from organizing and hosting local administrative conferences to stay afloat.
A tour guide who once earned a dependable income from tourism in Turmi says visitors have grown rare, while unemployment has skyrocketed, worsening poverty.
“It’s not just in Turmi. It’s in every part of the region, forcing many of us to abandon the profession and look for opportunities elsewhere,” said the tour guide.
