Ethiopia loses 145 million USD in tourism  

ESAT News (February 9, 2017)

Ethiopia says it has lost 145 million dollars in tourism in the last six months alone owing to the political unrest and the ensuing state of emergency declared in October 2016.

The spokesperson for culture and tourism, Gezahegn Abate, told local media that the yearlong anti-government protest in the Oromo region as well as the protest in the Amhara region have resulted in the decline of tourists visiting the east African country.

Tourist operators in U.S., Europe and U.K. had cancelled their bookings to Ethiopia following the state of emergency leading to the decline in the number of tourists by about 40,000.

The six month state of emergency is expected to expire early April. Ethiopian officials, however, said in statements that they don’t see lifting the law before its expiration in April.

The decline in tourism coupled with declining export trade has resulted in a serious foreign currency crunch.