Addis Ababa, December 16, 2024 (FMC) – Delegates hailing from the Chinese Embassy in Addis Ababa and Chinese Medical Team offering services in Ethiopia have expressed their amusement at enthralling tourist destinations in Ethiopia.
The Chinese Embassy indicated in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that the delegation has traveled to South Ethiopia regional state’s Arba-Minch and Southwest Ethiopia People regional state’s Konso area for “an exploring journey”.
The Embassy, in its social media post, hailed Konso and Arba-Minch areas as “wonderland shining with long history, astonishing scenery and huge development potential.”
These places are telling stories of hope, peace and prosperity of Ethiopia, according to the Embassy.
With a landscape that ranges from rainforests, to grassy savannas, mountains, and deserts, Ethiopia boasts scenery that is as diverse and fascinating as its people. Splitting the country in two, the Great Rift Valley provides breath-taking views that rival those of the Grand Canyon.
Arba-Minch and its surrounding area are home to one of the biggest national parks, Nechisar National Park. This park is situated within an area of 5142 km. and inhabited with abundant biomass. The red-brown Abaya and the sky-like blue Chamo Lakes are the second and third-largest Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes that are found in the southern escarpment of the park.
Named after the creamy white grass that covers the central plains of the park, NechSar National Park also consists of grasslands, savannahs, mountains, and hills. Major attractions include the “Crocodile Market” located on the shores of Lake Chamo, the groundwater forest – the only one in Eastern Africa, and hot springs.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011, the Konso Cultural Landscape, meanwhile, is named after its agriculturist inhabitants, who have molded their 230km2 homeland of semi-arid hills into productive agricultural land. A striking feature of Konso is the ancient hilltop paleta (terrace and walled villages) – strange hobbit-warrens towered over by generation poles felled from a sacred forest, and studded with curvaceous thatched community houses. The Konso are also renowned for their waka grave-markers, anthropomorphic hardwood statues carved to mimic the deceased, and for their communally constructed reservoirs.
In a post on its social media channels on Monday 16th December, the Office of the Prime Minister noted that tourism is a vital and growing pillar of Ethiopia’s economy, contributing significantly to GDP, employment, and foreign exchange.
Since 2018, the government has prioritized the sector through policies and initiatives focused on sustainable growth, cultural preservation, and global competitiveness.
These efforts, outlined in strategic documents, emphasize investments, partnerships, and sustainability to drive development.
With projections to position Ethiopia among Africa’s top five tourist destinations, the government continues to invest in infrastructure, including hotels, road networks, and airport expansions, to support this ambitious vision, the PM Office asserted.
Testament to this, the country has developed multiple tourist destinations under various initiatives spearheaded by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, including “Dine for Ethiopia”, Dine for Sheger”, and Dine for Generation” that seek to develop and upgrade destinations to catalyze the tourism sector, attract more visitors, stimulate economic growth, and foster employment opportunities.
Notably, Gorgora Eco Resort, Chebera Churchura Elephant Paw Lodge (part of Koysha project), Halala Kella Resort, and Wenchi-Dendi Eco Tourism Village are the newly developed world-class tourist destinations under the PM’s initiatives.
There are also multiple tourist destinations being developed across all corners of the country under the premier’s initiatives.
Furthermore, ‘Dine for Sheger’ was also PM Abiy’s first initiative that brought three grand parks making the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, one of the best tourist destinations.