The Ethiopian Embassy in Brussels has organized an Ethiopian tourism night event on 5 May 2015 to promote the untapped tourism potential and to build the image of Ethiopia in Europe. At the event, the Embassy welcomed fifty tour operators, investors, journalists and other professionals of the tourism sector at the Euro Press Club in Brussels. The Ethiopian tourism night aimed at presenting the possibilities and opportunities that Ethiopia is endowed to attract more tourists and visitors to discover this great land of ancient culture and unique natural scenery.
At this occasion, H.E. Ambassador Teshome Toga stated that Ethiopia has changed for the better to bring value to its multifaceted assets, ranging from an exceptionally rich culture, history and nature to a dynamic economy and a rapidly developing infrastructure. Ambassador Teshome Toga also updated the attendees on the recently formulated Ethiopian tourism development policy and various tourism facilities with the goal to accelerate the development of the sector and attract potential European tourists. A new Ethiopian Tourism Organization was created with the aim of developing and promoting touristic activities. The ambassador encouraged all Benelux tour operators to take advantage of Ethiopia’s tourism potential and to incorporate Ethiopia in their tour package as one of their destinations. He further underlined that the Embassy is here to facilitate the link with Ethiopian tour operators and assist them in any possible way to that end.
As an early and faithful traveller to Ethiopia, Chris Aelbrecht, Product Manager of SENSATIONS, TRAVEL DESIGNER, also gave his thoughts about tourism opportunities in the country. He witnessed one of his favorite spots in Ethiopia, the Simien mountains, which is endowed with “very impressive sights”. He warmly invited other tour operators to include a visit of these mountains and other tourist destinations of Ethiopia in their tour packages. According to him, the country has developed a lot since the 1990s. Today, tourists enjoy a high standard of confort and good accommodations during there trips in Ethiopia. One further strong points of Ethiopian tourism are the very highly trained guides, he further stated.
The colorful event also gave the guests a chance to discover the authentic and organic Ethiopian cuisine, raw and roasted Ethiopian coffee as well as several Ethiopian wines and beers. Live traditional dances and a fashion show were met with enthusiasm by the guests, which were thereby provided further insights of the multifaceted potentiel of Ethiopia as a touristic destination.
The event was generously sponsored by Unibra, which is about to launch Zebidar, a new beer company in Ethiopia.
© Ethiopian Embassy in Brussels 2015 // / Bruno Mariani/Press Club Brussels
