PROBLEM AND OBJECTIVE

Project proposal
FOR TOURISM PROBLEMS IN ETHIOPIA

Group 2

December 1, 2023
PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION:

ETHIOPIA IS NOT GETTING THE BENEFITS

IT SHUOLD GET FROM TOURISM SECTOR

WHAT IS TOURISM ?

Tourism is, the act and process of spending time away from home in pursuit of recreation,
relaxation, and pleasure, while making use of the commercial provision of services. As such,
tourism is a product of modern social arrangements, beginning in western Europe in the
17th century, although it has antecedents in Classical antiquity.

Tourism is distinguished from exploration in that tourists follow a “beaten path,” benefit
from established systems of provision, and, as befits pleasure-seekers, are generally
insulated from difficulty, danger, and embarrassment. Tourism, however, overlaps with
other activities, interests, and processes, including, for example, pilgrimage. This gives rise
to shared categories, such as “business tourism,” “sports tourism,” and “medical tourism”
(international travel undertaken for the purpose of receiving medical care) .

TOURISM ENCOMPASSES:

Inbound Tourism
The tourists coming to BC from other places are called inbound tourists. BC competes in a
global market to attract tourists from the United States, Japan, Germany and many other
countries. The industry also implements marketing campaigns aimed at attracting travellers
from other parts of Canada, as well as from within British Columbia.

Domestic Tourism
Approximately half of the tourists in BC each year are actually from within the province. BC
Stats and Destination BC consider those travelling beyond their usual environment (typically
more than 80 km from home) for business or for pleasure to be tourists.

Tourism Sectors
There are different ways to measure the size of the tourism industry, as tourism does not
conform to the usual ways that industries are defined, such as manufacturing, forestry and
other industries. Tourism constitutes a wide variety of sectors that provide diverse products
and services to visitors. However, these businesses also provide products and services to
local residents.
THE ETHIOPIAN TOURISM
Tourism is a circulation of people who travel to or stay in places outside their home country.
It has being believed as a major ingredient in the economic development strategy. Ethiopia
possesses numerous natural, religious, historical, non-natural and cultural tourism
attractions; economic contribution and its potential are incomparable. However, various
external and internal factors have been affecting the sustainable development of the
tourism industry in Ethiopia. Shortage of tourist facilities, lack of skillful human resources,
weak promotion, lack of integration and political will are the major negatively contributing
forces. Although Ethiopia possesses massive tourism development potentials with its unique
biodiversity and spectacular topographic features, its economic contribution to the country
is unmatched. A solution could be the implementation of a tourism tax; these taxes can be
used to fund the continuous development and improvement of its tourism markets. Thus,
relieving the country of the stigma relying on foreign money to help its own industry and
giving full of tourist facilities, skillful human resources, promotion, socio-cultural and
political will for the tourists.

In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 177.00 million USD, or about 2.3 percent of the
gross national product. This corresponded to about 103,000 tourists at that time and
roughly 1,718 USD per person. Within 25 years, the country's dependence on tourism has
increased noticeably. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were $3.53
billion billion, 3.7 percent of gross national product. Thus, each visitor spent an average of
$4,346 on their vacation in Ethiopia.

In 2020, tourist receipts plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the $3.53 billion
billion (2019), only $2.28 billion billion remained. This is a 35 percent decrease in Ethiopia.

But this all is not satisfying enough and not compatible with the number of tourist
destinations it has when compared to other neighbouring countries with less tourist
destinations than Ethiopia.

CHALLENGES OF ETHIOPIAN TOURISM

Tourism Industry For Ethiopia, there are many challenges that need to be addressed. Some
of them include the lack of effective marketing, limited access to financing, and the
inadequate development and implementation of strategies. Some stakeholders have gone
as far as criticizing the failures and limitations of Tourism Ethiopia (formerly ETO) for its
inability to create any significant change. Plagued by operational inefficiencies, lackluster
bureaucracy, internal conflicts, and non-existent leadership, the organization has struggled
to make progress on its goal of making Ethiopia a premier destination in Africa, despite
having many of the tools within its arsenal.
 Now a day, Tourism sector is getting attention by developing countries since it is becoming
a backup for their economy stability with the fact that their economic background mainly
depends on exporting Agricultural products which has little contribution for earning hard
currency (Usman A. Raheem, 2008). Teshale Biazen 2010, also support that the above
problems and based on his research political uncertainty or disruption of infrastructure has
a major influence of the tourism sector of Ethiopia. Essential wages in the tourism sector
tend to be low in comparison to others sectors (although agriculture in many cases is an
exceptional). This mostly happen as this sector income is seasonal and lost confidence of
many professional experts with high salary. In return such kind of insecurity may discourage
people to join this institution or to stay in for long period of time. (Bull, 1995) or
employment problem is one of the bottleneck of Ethiopian tourism.

According to (Gezachew Andarege, 2013), on his finding of the study mentioned that lack
infrastructure, problems of securities, lack of museum, lack of service and facilities, lack of
preservation and protections of heritage, financial constraints are the major challenges of
tourism development in Ethiopia. In 2016, ETO released a marketing strategy that was
meant to act as a blueprint for the development of the national tourism industry. One
section prioritized the development of the meetings industry (MICE) and observes the
potential of transit tourism. To date little has come to fruition, besides the easing of visa
restrictions for travelers and introduction of several ET-Holiday packages. In regards to
MICE, the sector continues to be led by stakeholders in the private industry.

SELECTED SITE: THE GERD ARTIFICIAL LAKE

 The GERD is the largest dam in Africa being constructed on Blue Nile, Ethiopia. The
name that the Blue Nile river takes in Ethiopia ("Abay") is derived from the Ge'ez word
for 'great' to imply its being 'the river of rivers'.

The Nile River basin covers about one-tenth of the area of the African continent. The river is
also known as the longest in the world with approximately 6,700 kilometers from the source
to Mediterranean Sea. Its two main tributaries are the White Nile originating from the Lake
Victoria Basin and Abay having its source on the Ethiopian Plateau.

SITE SELECTION CRITERIA

 The Abay river, being a significant and beneficiary nature-gifted resource, Ethiopia is not
fully utilizing it.

 Though Nile River is the resource of eight upstream countries, the river is only serving
the two downstream riparian countries Egypt and Sudan throughout in history.
 Abay (Blue Nile) was a river but now it’s both a river and a lake. It will continue to flow
as a river and serve as a lake that helps Ethiopia achieve its development goals.

 The volume of the reservoir will be two to three times that of Lake Tana. Up to 7,000
tonnes of fish are expected to be harvested annually.

 It is already proposed that the reservoir will officially become a tourist destination.

 Due to financial and geopolitical reasons, Ethiopia has not been able to benefit from its
water resources in this region. But our Resort project will pave the way to enhance the
economical benefits that our country will get in the tourism sector

 Since the Lake is huge (nearly about enough to serve various services at once o make
the lake multi-functional, serving as a recreational site in addition to its Hydro-electric
benefits.

 The tourism in Ethiopia is more biased to the northern destinations (the historical
Amhara, and Tigray palaces, and religious places), and hence proposing tourism
destination to the other (specially to the south) parts of the country will balance such
things and make the tourists discover all sides of the country.

PROPOSED PROJECT: FLOATING RESORT

WHY RESORT ?
 Scenic Views: A resort near the GERD dam could offer spectacular views of the Nile
river, the dam, and its surroundings.

 Economic Development: The construction of a resort could create jobs and potentially
boost the local economy in the area around the dam.
 Tourism Attraction: The GERD dam is a significant and well-known infrastructure
project, and having a resort in the vicinity of it could attract tourists interested in
learning about the construction of the dam and the region's history, culture, and
landscape.

 To make the lake multi-functional, serving as a recreational site in addition to its Hydro-
electric benefits.

 Serves as an alternative recreational destination both for local and foreigner tourists.

 To make the area more active.

 To Increase Tourism: A resort in the area could attract tourists who are interested in
seeing the dam, which could provide an economic boost to the region.

 To create Job opportunity: The resort would require a significant number of staff
members, which could create jobs for people in the region, both during the
construction phase and when the resort is operational.

 To enhance Infrastructure Development: Since the site is a rural area the construction
of a resort could also lead to improvements in the local infrastructure, such as roads,
utilities and other facilities.

 To add Increased Revenue: If managed effectively, a successful resort could generate

revenue for the region and contribute to the local economy.

WHY FLOATING ?
 The common construction mechanism of Resorts are no longer inspiring for tourists, but
such kind of new architectural advancements will be highly pulling factor.

 This makes economically beneficiary.

 to pave the way to practice new architectural technologies.

 Since the The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is located on the Blue Nile River
in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia. The climate of the area is predominantly
 tropical, though It may not be feasible to build a resort in areas with extreme climate
conditions such as very arid deserts, but if is built on the water body this is nolonger
challenge.

 Building a resort on the water can provide several benefits, such as:

1. Cooling Effect: The air conditioner will provide a cooling effect to the guests, which is
useful in reducing discomfort caused by high temperatures, especially during summer.

2. Increased Comfort: The air conditioning system also helps in maintaining a comfortable
atmosphere inside the resort by controlling humidity levels and ensuring proper ventilation.

3. Enhanced Indoor Air Quality: Air conditioning systems can filter the air, removing dust,
pollen, and other pollutants that could aggravate allergies or respiratory problems,
improving the overall indoor air quality.

4. Protection Against Moisture: The presence of large bodies of water in close proximity to
buildings can sometimes cause moisture issues. Air conditioners help to manage humidity
levels and reduce the risk of mold growth, protecting both the guests and the structure from
any potential damage.

5. Competitive Edge: Providing air conditioning in water-front resorts can give these
establishments an advantage over their competitors who may not have this feature.
WHAT IS FLOATING RESORT?

Floating resorts are resorts that are not located on solid ground, typically sitting over water.
While a floating hotel could be designed to float on water, most hotels of this type are
actually securely positioned on it.

its so that the building does not sway.

There are many different floating hotel designs, but one popular strategy is to build small
individual cabins over the water, creating privacy and a festive atmosphere. It is also
possible to create a floating hotel that would float in the air rather than water, although the
investment required to create such a hotel is quite high.

With Floating Resort you offer your customers the opportunity to experience a wonderful
holiday in an alternative, fun and exclusive way: the holiday package also includes a
motorboat for a “trip out of town”, for a swim in less crowded waters or to fully enjoy of a
beautiful sunny day, perhaps fishing in the open sea. As an alternative to the motorboat also
possibility of using jet skis, rubber dinghies, small sailing boats. Each single platform also has
a private pool / hot tub.
Airborne floating resorts would operate in a way similar to floating hotels over water, but
these structures would likely not be tethered to the ground in any way. In order to remain
steady, airships of this type must be quite large to balance out movement due to wind. The
cost to develop an airborne hotel could be quite large, but an airborne floating hotel has the
potential to provide excellent views and a unique experience.

Floating resorts are hotels that are not located on solid ground, typically sitting over water.
While a floating resort could be designed to float on water, most hotels of this type are
actually securely positioned on stilts so that the building does not sway. There are many
different floating hotel designs, but one popular strategy is to build small individual cabins
over the water, creating privacy and a festive atmosphere. It is also possible to create a
floating resort that would float in the air rather than water, although the investment
required to create such a hotel is quite high.