Ethiopia: Effective Strategy, Public-Private Partnership Key to Tapping Domestic Tourism

ADDIS ABABA-Designing effective strategy and public-private partnership is the key to tap the untapped domestic tourism potentials, experts said.

Tourism Development Expert Kaleab Belachew told The Ethiopian Herald that having effective strategies and public-private partnerships helps to harness the untapped domestic tourism sector potentials. Considering the ease of generating hard currency, private investors prioritize the international tourists that resulted in poor domestic tourism expansion, he added.

Lack of organized tour plans, marketing, and incentives for domestic tourism limits the country not to gain more from the sector, according to him.

Thus, incorporating tourism in the school curriculum and undertaking different tours by the students, employees of public and private organizations will have a fundamental impact on promoting domestic tourism, Kaleab said.

“Lack of organized public-private partnership in domestic tourism resulted in lower income from the sector. Domestic tourism can substitute or complement the income from international tourism.”

Hagerhin Ewok club and other tour purposes have been playing a significant role in motivating domestic tourism. Promoting domestic tourism has different benefits like strengthening social interaction, creating new potential businesses, and integrating the country via infrastructure, as to him.

Domestic tourism facilitates income distribution among citizens he said adding, it enables communities at the grass-root level to access market opportunities to sell their product within their doorsteps.