2merkato

The tourist industry in Ethiopia has seen a growth of 111% to earn 253 million dollars in the first two of the current fiscal year according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The number of tourists visiting the country has increased by 44% with 321,000 visitors during the last six months.

The average length of stay for tourists to Ethiopia has also shown an increase from 4 days to 6 days.

The hotel rating assessment project launched in Ethiopia has failed due to the absence of prior preparation according to Sisay Teklu, Coordinator of Tourism Services Competence Accreditation Directorate with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Hoteliers had their facilities rated unexpectedly as part of the requirement for a competence certificate put into place by the Ministry of Trade last year.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has been evaluating the assessment reports for the last months before coming to the decision to discard the project.

Access Resorts reached an agreement with Metal and Engineering Corporation for the sale of Imperial Hotel, Ethiopia. The agreement is estimated to be worth 60 million birr.

The move to sale the property has followed a liquidity crunch faced by Access following a decision by the National Bank of Ethiopia that prohibits Access from borrowing from Zemen Bank with which it is closely affiliated according to some industry observers.

Anbessa City Bus Enterprise, Ethiopia awarded the 3.16 million birr contract, to supply an automatic vehicle inspection machine to Gigar Trading and Technical Center.

The contract requires Gigar to supply, install, commission the machine as well as providing training for operators.

Anbessa is required to install the inspection machine following the directive from the Federal Transport Authority that mandates automation for all vehicle inspection sites.