Ethiopian Airlines and Ministry of Tourism have welcomed 106 transit passengers traveling from Jakarta to Cairo as part of the ongoing activities to enhance inbound tourism in Ethiopia.
Welcoming the passengers from Jakarta in Addis Ababa today, Ethiopian Airlines tour operator wing Head Mahlet Kebede said that Ethiopian Holidays plays the catalytic role in enhancing inbound tourism in Ethiopia.
“Today we have around 106 transit passengers traveling from Jakarta to Cairo. We have offered them a stopover package so that they could stay for a day in Addis Ababa and visit the tourist attractions in the city,” the head added.
This will be an ongoing process using all 130 offices of Ethiopian Airlines to promote Ethiopia as stopover for transit passengers, she disclosed.
“If we can convert a few percentage of transit passengers into tourists, it would be huge success. So we have been trying to increase the number of inbound passengers since 2018.”
Stating that the outbreak of COVID-19 interrupted the stopover in Addis, the head stated, adding that the airline has now restarted that again. “We are working in collaboration with Ministry of Tourism, Addis Ababa Culture, Arts and Tourism Bureau, and other tour operators as well as stakeholders to promote inbound tourism to Ethiopia.
According to her, “there is a huge potential for inbound tourism to grow and we do the promotion part in our offices around the world.”
Tourism State Minister Selamawit Dawit said that Addis Ababa has now plenty of tourist attractions as passengers can visit Entoto, National Museum, Unity Park, do shopping, and have lunch in the city, among others.
Since Addis Ababa has plenty of tourist sites, visitors will be inspired to visit other parts of the country.
The state minister revealed that more than 700,000 tourists have visited Ethiopia during the past nine months.
Team leader of the Jakarta passengers, Pastor Thomas Candra said they are looking forward to visiting tourist sites in Addis Ababa and will go to Cairo tonight as their next destination.
He expressed his readiness to share the good things he expects to see to fellow Indonesians back home.
The other passenger, Ludwina Maks said, “I have heard about Ethiopia a long time ago. It is a beautiful country and we are happy that there is time to visit and know Ethiopia.”
Commenting about the service of Ethiopian Airlines, she said “Wow, I think Ethiopian Airlines is very nice, the food is very delicious, and the service nice.”
Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, which is a hub for plenty of connection flights to different corners of Africa, is an ideal spot for stopover tourists.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency