Ethiopia revises tourism projections following political unrest
Ethiopia has revised downwards the revenue targets of the current financial year to $3 billion dollars from last year’s $3.4 billion while adjusting inflow of tourist numbers to one million from 1.25 million set at the beginning of the year following months of protests.
Gezahegn Abate, public and international relations directorate director of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said the adjusted figures are not that far from last fiscal year's results. He recalled $3.4 billion was secured from 900,000 visitors during the period in question.
The second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II) envisages that the sector will achieve a $6 billion turnover from two million visitors by the end of plan period.
This year the number of tourists is expected to hit the million mark albeit the recent political unrest which is feared to take its toll on the sector.
During the first quarter of the current fiscal year, the sector managed to secure $872 million which, according to Gezahegn, showed a 0.8 percent or $seven million decline from the previous fiscal year’s figures. The volume of travelers also declined moderately year-on-year.
During the same quarter, some 232,032 tourists visited Ethiopia generating $872.5 million. According to Gezahegn, the corresponding figure for the first quarter of the last fiscal year was 235,011visitors and $879.8 million revenue.
That said, the pick season for tourism in Ethiopia, which starts from September and lasts until the end of June, is feared to have taken a blow following the political unrest in the country. The outcome of the unrest is likely to have far reaching economic implications for the country with tourism being at forefront of the anticipated impact. Gezahegn declined to mention the number of cancellations though he admitted that his ministry had received reports of cancellation by tourists.
He also projected that the impact will be reflected in the second quarter of the current fiscal year. Complicating the matter, a couple of countries have issued stern travel warnings and advisories to their citizens. The US hs issued a seven-month extensive travel warning before the six-month state of emergency was decreed by the government of Ethiopia.
Tour operators have echoed concerns that some of the restrictions the state of emergency has put in place are impacting the sector. The travel warning issued to diplomats when they travel outside of the 40kms radius of the capital is said to have adversely affected the tourism sector.
Admittedly, the command post that is overseeing the implementation of the state of emergency, chaired by Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn, lately withdrew the restriction on diplomats from travelling 40 kms outside of Addis Ababa.
In addition to that, the shutdown of internet and social media is anticipated to have its own impact on an already struggling tourism sector. Gezahegn did not deny the impact of the interruption of the internet on the sector that his ministry leads but argued that the effect should not be exaggerated since such alternative means of accessing the internet as Wi-Fi services are available.
The aftermath of the political upheaval has also scarred some tourist destinations along the Rift Valley lakes. The Ministry for instance confirmed that Abijatta-Shalla National Park has been partly damaged during the unrest. The extent of damage is yet to be determined, he said but the lodges and resorts adjacent to the parks have been affected. Similarly, the Bale Mountains National Park was also affected by the crisis though the extent of destruction is mild compared to Abijatta-Shalla.
