Ethiopian, Sudanese Tour Operators Discuss Cooperation

Addis Ababa September 18/2019 Tour operators from Ethiopia and Sudan discussed business opportunities to create a network between the two countries.

The discussion was attended by members of the Ethiopian Association of Tour Operators and Sudanese tour operators, which has been visiting various tourist destinations in Ethiopia for the past 10 days.

Tewodros Derebew, Director of International Tourism Facilitation at the Ministry of culture and Tourism said the discussion is aimed at developing the tourism industry in both countries through networking.

The visit to tourist sites and the discussion is aimed to enable both sides about the other and work in collaboration, he added.

Noting that the people in both countries share similar culture, Tewodros said cooperation among tourist operators would improve the opportunity for them to visit one another.

Abraham Alemu, an Ethiopian descendant, is among the Sudanese tour operators participated in the visit and discussion.

Abraham said there is an opportunity for the two countries to boost tourism if they work in collaboration.

Cooperation between the two sides could improve tourist flow between the two countries and attract more foreign tourists by providing a combination of destinations in both countries in one package.

Yacob Melaku, Chairman of the Association of Ethiopian Tour Operators said the decision by the two sides to work together will help to increase the number of days that tourists stay in the region.

Such kind of collaboration is important for countries in the region to improve tourist arrivals and benefit from the industry, Yacob said.

Sadik Mahadi, Tourism Promotion Officer at the Ethiopian Embassy in Sudan said such networking activities will help to promote Ethiopia's tourist destinations to potential visitors from neighboring countries.

He added that similar networking activities will continue to be extended to other African countries to benefit countries from the tourism industry.

 The discussion, which was attended by members of the Ethiopian Association of Tour Operators and 10 Sudanese tour operators was organized by Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.