According to the Ethiopian Federation of Hotel and Tourism Employers, the hotel and tourism business in Ethiopia is constantly weakening.
The federation’s president, Fitih Woldesenbet, told VOA that the hotel and tourism business in the world was weakened due to COVID-19, but it has now returned to its previous position.
He said that taking action based on the recommendations submitted to the government to help the hotel industry recover from the damage caused by COVID-19 in Ethiopia saved the sector from further damage.
The president said that the system implemented under the Covid protocol has allowed hotels that had stopped working due to Covid-19 to return to work.
However, the president said that in Ethiopia, it is constantly weakening and many hotel business investors and experts are leaving the hospitality businesses.
The president added that the war in northern Ethiopia has affected the hotel industry and now the war and security problems in the Amhara and Oromia regions are causing more damage.
Besides the war effect, banks are pressuring hotel owners to repay the loans they have taken due to all these problems in Ethiopia.
The President urged the government to pressurize the banks to extend the loan repayment period before the hotel industry gets into worse trouble.
The short repayment period of the loans given by the banks to the hotel industry, the hotels being targeted by the war and the hotels being out of business due to the war are seriously affecting the sector.
As per the Ethiopian Federation of Hotel and Tourism Employers, the progress of the hotel industry in Ethiopia has been positive, but the building of over 20 global brand hotels was halted a year ago for various reasons.
These hotels’ construction was put on hold due to security concerns, scarcity of foreign exchange, and investors’ lack of interest.
