Ethiopian and Ugandan tour operators have been urged to ramp up efforts to promote their tourist attraction sites in order to sway more people to engage in the sector.
The call was made during a tourism workshop themed 'Ethiopia: Land of Origins -Your Next Tour Destination' organized by the Ethiopian Embassy in Collaboration with the Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO) this past Friday.
The workshop, which was honored by the Ethiopian Ambassador to Uganda Alemtsehay Meseret, involved discussions on tourism destinations and opportunities in the sector, tasting of Ethiopian cuisines, and a photo exhibition.
The ambassador noted that the workshop has an objective of creating a working relationship between the tour operators in both countries through experience sharing, networking, and exploring complementary tourism destinations.
The Ambassador also highlighted the tourism potential that exists in Ethiopia and the government's effort to develop more sites, especially in the Capital city Addis Ababa, where the African Union and UNECA are headquartered.
Uganda Tourism Board member Yewagnesh Biriggwa noted that the African continent has immense tourism potential that needs to be tapped by promoting inter-Africa Tourism and travel.
Sisay Getache, an expert from the Ministry of Tourism of Ethiopia, noted the horn of Africa nation is labeled the land of origins because it is the origin of coffee, the source of the only African Alphabet, and the source of African inspiration for independence, among others.
The State Minister of the Ministry of Tourism of Ethiopia Seleshi Girma said his country was committed to transforming the tourism sector through initiatives like easing the tourist visa process, connecting Ethiopia with Africa and beyond through Ethiopian Airlines, reopening the closed tourist destinations as well as the newly developed and the upcoming high-class tourist destinations in the country.
Furthermore, the state Minister revealed Ethiopia's keen interest to create joint regional tourism packages with countries in East Africa to compete in the global tourism market.