Foreign Visitors Urge for the Promotion of Heritage Festival to the World

ENA, January 19/2020 Foreign tourists who attended Timket in Addis Ababa urged for distinctive cultural and ritual heritage festivals to be preserved and promoted to the world.

Approached by ENA reporter the tourists said festivals being important factor of cultural tourism, they have crucial role to play for the growth of cultural tourism in host nation.

Festivals have been taken into account to contribute considerably in promotion of cultural tourism, they said adding that countries should preserve and promote such unique cultural and ritual celebrations to the world to this end.  

The tourists appreciated the inscription of Timket by UNESCO as intangible cultural world heritage, the Ethiopian epiphany truly deserves because it is one of the most colorful annual celebrations in the country.

An American tourist, Mark Lawrence, told ENA that Timket celebration is much glorious events of cultural, social and religious being in Ethiopia.

“I am excited to be here and celebrate this unique festival for the first time. I have seen so wonderful events here as the epiphany is celebrated in the open space and allow the attendance of all part the community,” he said.

So, he noted that “I think not only Ethiopia the world has to take care of this great heritage and promote to the rest of the world.”

Norwegian tourist, Jeanette Andersan, said Timket is one of the most imperative celebrations for public gathering social interactions.

“I think it is important for the people of Ethiopia to celebrate such an important event that would strengthen common values as well as social knowledge,” she sated.

Wedy Arbeit, a visitor from the USA stated that Timket is a unique pageantry celebration in Ethiopia with full dazzling music and dances.

“It is really a great scene. A lot of color, a lot of pageantry and a lot of music,” she said adding that there should be a scope in preserving and promoting such distinctive festivals.

“I am really impressed how the whole country celebrating Timket. Everywhere we go there is a banner with the national flag and people are very happy,” she stated.

The socio-cultural benefits of such festivals are vital in bringing integrated development beyond increasing tourist flow, she pointed out.  

Timket festivity is a major tourist attraction event in Ethiopia, in which foreign visitors from different parts of the world attend the celebrations both at church and public places.