Ethiopia: Tourism Gears up to Mitigate Effects of Unrest

“13 Months of Sunshine” which served as the tourism motto for over 40 years into “Land of Origins.’

However, the ministry did not give any explanation for changing a slogan that is in the heart of millions of Ethiopians.

“13 months of sunshine” is the motto of Ethiopian Tourism Department. Ethiopia actually has its own calendar which has 13 months. In Ethiopia, the year is currently 2009 while the rest of the world is in 2016. Ethiopia also has its own clock.

The motto “13 months of Sunshine” has been used to tell the world that Ethiopia has different calendar that encompasses 13 months referring to the month of “Pagume.” The slogan also shows different seasons that appears in different parts of the country.

Besides changing this long serving motto, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism also planning to launch a campaign on November 30, under the name “Tena Yestelegn”.

Ethiopia: Tourism Gears up to Mitigate Effects of Unrest

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The Addis Abeba Hotel Trade Sectoral Association (AHA) and Ethiopian Tourism Organization have announced that they will partner to use new methods to minimize the effect of the state of emergency on tourism. At the first annual Tourism Industry Day event organized by Jumia Travel on November 17, the General Manager of AHA, Ruth Luda, announced that a request has been presented to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture and Tourism and other organizations. She explained that even though travel warnings for Ethiopia were issued in some countries, this advice does not include Addis Abeba. (The AHA was formed in 2005, with the aim of voicing the concerns of the Addis Ababa hotel industry).

“The main issue currently raised by foreigners is that international insurances are not willing to cover their costs” said Meron Tiruneh, the marketing manager at the Ethiopian Tourism Organization.

In order to solve this and other problems, the ETO has changed the logo, ’13 Months of Sunshine’ which served as the tourism Slogan for over 40 years into ‘Land of Origins’. It is also planning to launch a campaign on November 30, under the name ‘Tena Yestelene’, by formulating a five year strategy of raising awareness and image building.

“We still believe that Ethiopia is a great destination to tourists with high security levels”, said Alexander Burtenshaw, Jumia country manager.

Even though it has been only a year since it started operating in Ethiopia, Jumia is a well-known online booking platform in Kenya and South Africa.