ETHIOPIAN TOURISM – ECONOMIC VIEW

The World Bank approved the first-ever sustainable tourism development project in Sub-Saharan Africa, a 35 million US Dollars Credit to the Government of Ethiopia.The bank said the credit is given to enable tourism contribute for sustainable overall development whilst preserving and enhancing the country’s social, cultural and environmental assets.

The statement said “the Ethiopian tourism sector, which accounts for about 15 per cent of foreign currency earnings, represents the third largest export earner and has significant growth potential.”

Since 2005, the bank said, the government has given increased attention to the sector and aims to put the country among the top 10 African tourist destinations by the year 2020, it said.

This requires important investments in the preservation of cultural assets, the development of infrastructure and tourism facilities, skills enhancement, institutional development and community engagement, it noted.

The proposed project provides much needed assistance to Ethiopia to unleash the unique potential of Ethiopia’s tourism sector through product improvement, market development and capabilities enhancement.

SOURCE – ethioplanet

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