Addis Ababa Hotel Owners Trade Sectoral Association
THE ADDIS ABABA Hotel Owners Association (AHA) was established in 1997 as a non-profit under the name of Ethiopian Hotels and Restaurants Employers Association. As Lude Abiy, the organisation’s General Manager explains, “the founders’ initial vision was to establish an association that would support the industry with the highest quality services and resources available.
“However, due to the enormous changes of the past decade, the association members felt the need for it to reform, anticipating and meeting the growing and changing needs of its members and the city. For this specific reason the association was rebranded in the year 2012 to Addis Ababa Hotels Owners Trade Sectoral Association.”
Abiy went on to answer our questions about AHA and the wider tourism scene in the city.
Africa Outlook (AfO): Since inception, how has the AHA developed and progressed in terms of its key objectives and the messages it tries to get across?
Lude Abiy (LA): AHA has developed greatly since its inception. There are many developments that have been accomplished by AHA, the first being the fact we have greatly grown our membership base.
The second major change is that we have started to work with government offices and other stakeholders to change policies which are not favouring the tourism sector, as well as fostering those that are promoting the sector. Thirdly, AHA has started to produce its own city hotel guide that shows the city capacity and its hotels. This enabled the association to promote members and the city throughout the world. AHA has also been offering training and workshops for members’ employees to develop the services and skills required to succeed. Further, we have created a platform/job fair and networking day that will be happening every year which enables member hotels to recruit qualified citizens who want to join the hospitality sector.
AfO: How would you say Addis Ababa has developed in recent years as a business travel hub and what are the key reasons behind its growing appeal?
LA: Addis Ababa has developed in recent years specifically in regard to the number of hotels in the city as well as global international brands.
The number of rooms in the city has increased which means it is now possible for the city to host big conferences, expos and meetings. In addition, out of the 121 member hotels of the association, 95 of them have halls and function spaces to cater to business meetings and conferences. Among these 95, there is a total of
293 halls varying in size to facilitate any event, boosting over 47,000 square meters of space. In addition to this, big convention halls are under construction which will make the city more preferable for many event hosts.
AfO: Why, in your opinion, should someone visit Addis Ababa?
LA: In my opinion, Addis Ababa is a great city for visitors in major ways. Just to mention some: one – it has the best weather throughout the year; two – it has hotels for everyone, from small independents to big international hotels; three – the city has many fantastic international restaurants, traditional restaurants, souvenir houses, museums, and historical places; and four – it is one the safest cities in Africa.
AfO: Are there any specific attractions, landmarks or places to eat and drink that you would recommend?
LA: I recommend the Emperor Menelik II Palace-Entoto area, the National Museum, The Addis Ababa Museum, the Ethnographic Museum, Merkato Market and Shero Meda traditional cloth market, among other places.
In terms of places to eat and drink,
AfO: What trends are transforming the tourism industry in Addis Ababaat present? How are you responding to these trends?
LA: In my opinion the trends that are transforming the tourism industry in Addis Ababa at present are the growth of demand for a variety of services, and the attention of the government to the sector.
The Association is responding to trends by giving more support to these services, ensuring they are delivered as smoothly as possible.
Further, the arrival of more new global international and local hotels in the city and the completion of the convention centres that are being constructed are positive developments, and will be followed by an increased number of events and expos being hosted by the city of Addis Ababa.
AfO: Are there any plans or projects in the pipeline that you wish to highlight?
LA: We have many projects in the pipeline.
One is to organise a hospitality industry job fair and networking event that is being held every year – this is an event that gives a platform for unemployed people to be hired in member hotels in the fields they are qualified in. A second project is producing a hotel guide every year that can promote member hotels and the city, while another project involves establishing a tourism academy that will produce many professional citizens in the sector. AfO: Are you optimistic about the future of the tourism industry in Addis Ababa?
“I am very optimistic about the future of the tourism industry in Addis Ababa, especially when it comes to MICE tourism”
LA: I am very optimistic about the future of the tourism industry in Addis Ababa, especially when it comes to MICE tourism. Addis Ababa has all the potential to host big exhibitions, meetings and conferences. Currently the city has more than 11,000 rooms and the biggest airline in Africa which gives us a great opportunity to work on MICE tourism. Moreover, it has conference halls such as the UNECA and AU and a big convention hall development on the horizon.