Chinese tourists contribute $157m to Ethiopia in 2019

Ethiopia recorded $157 million in revenue from 41,837 Chinese tourists in 2019, an Ethiopian official said on Thursday.

China is the third largest source of tourists visiting Ethiopia, only after the US and Britain.

"Ethiopia earned $157 million from Chinese tourists in 2019 who came to Ethiopia for a range of purposes including conferences, business trips and seeking leisure," Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MoCT) Communications Affairs Director, Endegena Desalegn told Xinhua.

Desalegn said Ethiopia is working to further boost the number of Chinese tourists to the country including through installing tourism exhibition stalls at Chinese expos.

He also said Ethiopian consular employees in China are undertaking promotional works in various Chinese cities.

"Ethiopia and China are also preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties,".

"To commemorate the anniversary, a documentary film is being prepared that will be aired on Chinese and Ethiopian state media outlets. The documentary film will showcase Ethiopia's tourism attractions to Chinese audiences," Desalegn told Xinhua.

Ethiopia and China established diplomatic ties in 1970, with the two countries in recent years forging closer economic, political, social and cultural ties.