Ethiopian Tourism Income Hits USD 1.6B in First HalfFebruary 10, 2017 - Ethiopia generated revenues of more than 1.6 billion US dollars from tourism in the first half of this Ethiopian budget year (2016/17), according to ENA report. A total of 439, 359 foreign tourists visited the country in the reported period, Gezahegn Abate, Public and International Relations Director at Ministry of Culture and Tourism told ENA. The number of visitors in this first half decreased by 39, 531 tourists, while the revenues declined by 145 million US dollars compared to same period last fiscal year due to the unrest occurred in some parts of the country, he said. However, the first half performance shows that the plan set to generate over three billion US dollars by attracting 1.2 million foreign visitors in this Ethiopian budget year could be achievable, Gezahegn indicated. Ethiopia targeted to raise the number of visitors to more than two million and generate six billion US dollars income by the end of the second Growth and Transformation Plan in 2020.

Source: Ethiopian News February 10, 2017 23:23 UTC