‘Timket’ Inscription to Find Synergy with Tourist Inflow : A Researcher

Ena  December  20/2019 World Heritage inscription of Ethiopian Epiphany (Timiket) will find the country synergy with the inflow of foreign tourists, a researcher and anthropologist said.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) decided to inscribe Ethiopian Epiphany on the List of World Intangible Heritage recently.

UNESCO passed the decision on the 14^th session of Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage meeting which was held in Bogotá, Columbia.

Timket is one of Ethiopian colorful outdoor religious and cultural festivities celebrated all over the country and witnessed huge number of tourists every year.

Researcher at Ethiopian Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Gezahegn Girma, told ENA that the inscription of Timiket festival as world intangible heritage will enhance tourism development typically finds synergy with foreign tourists’ inflow.

“The inscription of the festival will promote the image of the country, attract the attention of foreign tourists and thereby enhances tourism development that makes the country more beneficiary from its heritages,” he said.

Gezahegn stated that research has related the influences of tourism development primarily to the commodification of traditional culture’s physical and ritual aspects through the interaction between tourists and local actors.

So, he noted that inscription of Timiket festivity will also attract researchers in the sector on the top of rising tourists’ inflow to Ethiopia.

Evoking a zealous bear in Columbia, Bogotá where the festival was declared its inscription, Gezahegn said, “I observed that many people inspired by the film and explanation presented on the stage about the festival.”

“This shows that the festival is motivating a lot of researchers and tourists, I can confidently say Timket is becoming a focus for stakeholders in tourism industry,” he added.

Communication Acting Director at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Endegena Desalegn, said the inscription of the festival will contribute a lot to the development of tourism industry in Ethiopia.

“Having heritages in the list of UNESCO has great advantage in moving the industry one step forward. The intangible ones which celebrated in a form of festival transmit peaceful message,” he explained.

The inscription will also encourage people to preserve the heritage and transfer it to the future generation without fading its cultural content, he added.

Ethiopia is striving to register additional cultural festivities including Ashenda, Ashendye, Shadey and Shewalid in World heritages Lists.

The inscription of Timiket raised the number of Ethiopia’s world intangible cultural heritages to four after Meskel, the Geda System and Fichee-chambalaalla, New Year festival of the Sidama people.