The Importance Of Tourism In East Africa

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Tourism is alive with dynamic growth, new activities, new destinations, new technology, new markets and rapid changes (Charles Goeldner & Brent Ritchie, 2006). Tourism is therefore a subset of travel and visitors are a subset of travelers. These distinctions are crucial for the compilation of data on flows of travelers and visitors and for the credibility of tourism statistics (Peter LAIMER 2010). Tourism-both domestic and international – is taking place on such a large scale that it has become a major world economic activity. Tourism is also described as an ‘Industry’, often termed as a smokeless industry or an industry without the chimneys. Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes (Ashworth 2000). Tourism has emerged …show more content…

Cultural tourism is a major tourism resource of any tourist destination. The importance of preservation and management of cultural heritage has been realized as an increasing number of tourists are visiting cultural attractions (Ashworth or Tunbridge, 2005). The contribution of tourism sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment generation at the global as well as national level is a testimony in itself that genuinely led it to gain an increasingly important place in global academia and business alike (Amiya Pattnaik, …show more content…

Ethiopia is a country of great antiquity with a culture and tradition dating back more than 3,000 years; it is truly a tourist paradise - beautiful and mysterious. Ethiopia's story begins at the beginning of time, in the very birthplace of mankind. Let us introduce you to one of the last great 'undiscovered' destinations Keb Mathews 2006." International tourist arrivals in Ethiopia in 2008 totaled 330,000,56 while the last official data shows 427,286 arrivals in 2009.57 However, Ethiopia only ranked 22nd out of 27 countries for arrivals volume in the Africa Region 58 in 2008, highlighting the need for improvement. While Sub-Saharan Africa’s tourism market share is only 3.2 percent of global international arrivals, Ethiopia’s share within Africa’s share is minuscule 1 percent, with close competitors such as Kenya and Tanzania claiming 4 percent and 2 percent of the same share respectively. By contrast, South Africa has a 32 percent share (Ministry of Culture and

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