Last week the world marked World Tourism Day with the theme ‘Tourism and Energetic Sustainability’. As I blogged about the colourful Meskel celebration on 27 September, Ethiopia was simultaneously commemorating World Tourism Day, using the opportunity to promote the tourism sector while keeping the need to be green in mind.
This year the focus was on the synergy between tourism and energy. Both sectors are key here to promoting sustainable development. Both sectors are in need of modernisation and upgrading and Ethiopia should be able to use advances to contribute to poverty alleviation, drive economic growth and allow the country to meet its vision of reaching middle income level by 2020. In this process, it is crucial that stakeholders in the tourism sector embrace modern, affordable and clean energy solutions – some of those running or constructing eco-lodges in Ethiopia’s national parks already offer best practice examples on which others can draw.
‘Going green’ is no longer a vague aspiration. Making our life styles more sustainable and becoming more conscious of the impact we have on our environment is now part of our daily lives. As tourists, we need to make our travels as eco-friendly as possible. Tips on energy efficient travelling can be found at http://www.ecotourism.org/energy-saving-tips-travelers.
In the last few days, Ethiopia’s rainy season has come to a close. So for the next 8 months or so, this is a great opportunity to see the countryside here in the sunshine. As I am discovering myself, there is a huge amount to visit – major cultural, historical and world heritage sites abound. So let’s try to be green while exploring Ethiopia’s riches.
thanks