During an official visit to Ethiopia, Anton Caragea, President of the European Council on Tourism and Trade, signed the official decision naming Addis Ababa as World Capital of Culture and Tourism.
The Government of Ethiopia and the Government of Addis Ababa are currently implementing many strategic measures to further develop the country’s tourism sector, including investment in infrastructure and capacity building on destination management and product development, through the recently established Tourism Transformation Council.
These measures reflect that tourism is firmly established among the development drivers of the country. European Council on Tourism and Trade President Dr Anton Caragea commended Ethiopia for the political support awarded to the tourism sector and in particular for integrating tourism as part of its development policy.
In 2015, after the decision of the European Council on Tourism and Trade to select Ethiopia as the World Best Tourist Destination, the country registered an influx of over 1 million tourists and earned more than 2 billion dollars in the 2015/2016 tourism year, numbers never achieved before in Ethiopia’s tourism history.
The decision to inscribe Addis Ababa as a World Capital of Culture and Tourism will undoubtedly give a new impetus to tourism in the country.
