Addis Ababa — Addis Ababa has been accelerating coordinated efforts to position itself as a vibrant and globally competitive tourism destination.
City leaders underscore renewed political commitment, institutional reforms, and flagship urban projects aimed at transforming the capital into a leading frontier city for international tourism.
The first Addis Ababa City Tourism Forum opened in the capital today.
A two-day dialogue brought together tour operators, hotel owners, federal and regional officials, and tourism experts to discuss the opportunities, challenges, and strategies shaping the city’s tourism future.
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Addressing the forum, Addis Ababa City Council Speaker Buzena Alkedir emphasized Ethiopia’s vast and diverse tourism resources had long remained underutilized due to the absence of platforms that bring stakeholders together to jointly unlock the sector’s potential.
“Despite our immense tourism endowments, there has been a gap in coordination and dialogue,” she said. “This forum is designed to fill that gap and create a shared vision for developing Addis Ababa as a competitive tourism destination.”
She noted that the forum is expected to strengthen public private collaboration, encourage innovation, improve access to finance, enhance tourism marketing and promotion, facilitate information exchange and address pressing sectoral challenges.
Buzena said the City Administration has intensified its efforts to boost tourism alongside major urban transformation initiatives, including corridor development and riverside development projects, which have already contributed to increased tourist inflows into the city.
Addis Ababa Tourism Commissioner Hunde Kebede, on his part, said the federal government has given special attention to tourism as a key pillar of the economy under the homegrown economic reform agenda.
“Tourism is now treated as a strategic economic sector,” he said. “For the first-time, large-scale tourism projects initiated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have been developed, contributing not only to sector growth but also to the country’s image building.”
Hunde added that city level initiatives such as corridor development, riverbank projects and the construction of grand conference halls are reshaping Addis Ababa’s urban landscape and enhancing its visibility as a tourism and meetings destination.
“Beyond addressing infrastructure needs, corridor development is playing a critical role in expanding tourism opportunities and improving the city’s global appeal,” he said.
As part of its institutional reform, the city administration recently established the Addis Ababa Tourism Commission to lead and coordinate tourism promotion, destination development, hospitality standards and stakeholder engagement.
Since its establishment, the Commission has undertaken efforts to promote both newly developed and existing tourism destinations, which includes the “Visit Addis Ababa” website and social media platforms as well as mobile application is currently under development, he mentioned.
