Heritage resources as a driver of cultural tourism development in Ethiopia: A review

Abstract

Ethiopia is a lucky and nature-gifted country that is endowed with an outstanding, diverse, and the product of different ethnic group assets of heritages. These heritages are the manifestation of those societies’ cultural identity and national pride. Both tangible and intangible heritages are the main assets to drive visitors to those destinations and attractions. Based on tourism, the country can achieve sustainable cultural tourism with sustainable socio-economic development. Therefore, heritage resources are the key to achieving sustainable cultural tourism where this paper tried to assess Ethiopian Cultural heritage resources as a driver of Cultural tourism development by stating their qualities. To attain the set goal, the study implements a qualitative research approach and uses content analyses to analyze literature from journals, thesis, and books on heritage studies that are taken from Academia, Google Scholar, Science direct, and Research gate. The scope of the study revolved around only eight tangible cultural heritages of the country which are enlisted in UNESCO as a world heritage sites. The reviewed literature revealed that the cultural heritages of Ethiopia contributed to the development of sustainable cultural tourism but it did not achieve the expected result because of different factors. The author recommended that the stakeholders must create a sustainable tourism policy to achieve sustainable cultural tourism in the country.

Keywords:

• tourism
• heritage resources
• culture
• cultural tourism
• Ethiopia

PUBLIC INTEREST STATMENT

Ethiopia is gifted with unique and marvelous heritages that include cultural landscapes; rock-cut churches, parks, paleo-anthropological sites, & historic cities. Hence, Ethiopia is identified, cherished, and has become renowned as a tourist destination across the world. Based on this view, assessing cultural tourism development is the target of this study where the country is endowed with these heritages that are the cornerstone for cultural tourism development in the study area as well as provide an opportunity for consumption and participation in culture-related activities for visitors.

1. Introduction

The country Ethiopia is the home of dissimilar and marvelous heritages that are created through human and natural processes (Aplin, 2002). They are living traditions of a nation or generation that distinguishes, in turn, one nation from others. The heritage resources demonstrate both intangible and tangible products. The former is the immaterial cultural expressions, and traditions of societies that include craftsmanship, festivals, music, social practices, and traditional way of life, whereas the latter denotes the material cultural expression of the society that includes archaeological sites, historic cities, landscapes, monuments, temples, and traditional buildings. These resources are the cornerstone of tourism because they possess an inherent beauty and value for visitation. Hence, the attractiveness of heritage resources aggravates the increment of the area to be promoted as a tourism destination (Herbert, 1989).

Heritage resources as a driver have a significant impact on the social, economic, and environmental life of the community by promoting and developing tourism. Heritage resources as a commodity and destination are aimed at supplicating and fulfilling the needs of tourists and their consumption took on the form of identity affiliation (Chhabra, 2010). Products especially, cultural lifestyles and activities are consumed through tourism, which uncovers both tangible and intangible heritage processes (Keitumetse, 2014). Therefore, tourism is the process or a form of travel in that tourists can consume the host community’s positively exploited heritage resources. Since heritage engages in the promotion of tourism, using the past for the present through the production and consumption of the past (Raivo, 2002).

Indeed, heritage and tourism are complementary, which heritage resources promote tourism, and tourism preserves, and showcase society’s heritage (Ezenagu & Iwuagwu, 2016). In this view, tourism can provide benefits for the local population and visitors in the economic and social spheres (Comer, 2012). As a result, heritage resources must be protected for their cultural continuity and value. As a principle, UNESCO took responsibility to preserve and conserve heritage for present and future use, where the principle led to the approval of an individual nation’s heritage as a world heritage site. By considering its benefits in the lives of many nations, heritage resources should be preserved and conserved. They are a testimony and shreds of evidence of the past that is not only for display cases, but also a symbol of identity and economic transformation for a targeted area.

2. Methodology

The paper tried to assess the Cultural heritage of Ethiopia as a driver of Cultural tourism development by stating its qualities. The study implements a qualitative research approach to discuss Ethiopian Cultural heritage resources, culture, tourism, and cultural tourism, sustainable heritage tourism, and challenges of cultural heritage tourism development in the country. The study aims to show the qualities and contribution of the cultural heritage of Ethiopia for cultural tourism development in the area. To fulfill the set objective, the study utilizes journals, thesis’s, and books on heritage studies that are taken from Academia, Google scholar, Science direct, and Research gate as major sources of data. The descriptors considered in this study include Cultural tourist attractions in Ethiopia, sustainable cultural tourism development, and challenges of sustainable heritage tourism development in Ethiopia. Most of these documents are published in the above-listed journals. Therefore, all the information is consulted and analyzed through the content analysis method. Then, the conclusion and recommendation were given as a close remark.

3. Conceptual framework

Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic country that is endowed with distinctive nations, myriad natural environments, cultural practices, and heritage resources where heritages are the indispensable living traditions of the people (Levine, 2004). According to ICOMOS (1999), heritage is a legacy of one nation that transfers from generation to generation (ICOMOS, 1999). It encompasses both natural and cultural environments, such as biodiversity environments, cultural practices, historic places, knowledge, experiences, landscapes, and built environments. Even though many times, heritage is considered from a cultural perspective, since it is the product of human activities, the natural one is changed by humans (Günlü et al., 2013).

Based on the above guise, heritage is defined as the current materialization of human times of yore that embodies those elements of our past, which are an important part of our cultural traditions in emotional and spiritual practices (UNESCO, 2003). These elements are creative geniuses of human activities which produced heritage that manifests the valuable cultural tradition of the society. On the other hand, cultural traditions over time yielded tangible and intangible historical legacies which are known today as cultural heritage (Ezenagu, 2015, 2017).

Traveling to consume cultural products can prompt tourism. Hence, without culture, there is no tourism. When tourists urge seeing other people’s authentic environments and the physical lives expressed in their work, cultural tourism could rise (Ezenagu & Iwuagwu, 2016). Cultural tourism is any journey that motivates one to see the artistic, and heritage offering of the community, historic region, or institutions (Dewar, 2005). Visiting the cultural and historical resources is part of the tourism industry, which today is seen as the fastest, largest, and most pervasive sector. To facilitate tourists’ consumption and maximize the benefit of cultural tourism, the host communities have tended to commodify their cultural properties unless the cultural resources are not consumed (Timothy & Nyaupane, 2009; Walker & Walker, 2011). During commodifying, there will be destruction of the cultural processes and products. Therefore, these heritages must be listed as world heritage sites. Heritage resources are seen as motivators of cultural tourism in Ethiopia, with world heritage status. Listing heritages in the world heritage list will open them up for international tourism. Hence, this work assumes that listing heritage resources will increase touristic activities and value.

Scholars have no common understanding of the meaning and definition of cultural or heritage tourism because of their unique nature and objectives of activities therein. Some may say heritage tourism; others may call as cultural tourism and cultural heritage tourism, even if they are similar in the word culture (Cultural and Heritage Tourism Alliance, 2002).

The phenomenon that harnessed the cultural, historical, and ethnic components of society to attract tourists is called heritage tourism, but the definition of it did not differentiate the elements of attractions (Chang, 1997). Two scholars (Leslie & Sigala, 2005) merged the two concepts and defined heritage and cultural tourism as the portion of the tourism industry that gave unique emphasis on cultural attractions and heritage. On the other hand, Yale (1991) understood that heritage tourism is all about visiting sites with their cultural relevance. Commonly, the concept of cultural heritage tourism is understood as the interaction between the use of cultural heritage assets, the consumption of experience, products, and tourists and tourism. In the radiance of this, cultural tourism covers both the consumption of products of the past and contemporary culture (Edgell, 2006; Mckercher & Cro, 2002). In light of the above definition of heritage, cultural heritage tourism portrayed the interaction between culture and tourism, of which cultural tourism is the product of culture and tourism, and it is the bridge between culture and tourism (Richards, 2001).

Culture and tourism are constituted in different forms of human activities. According to UNESCO (2001), culture is seen as the totality of society’s way of life, such as the intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and material set of a certain group whereas tourism commodifies the product of such relationships (UNESCO, 2001). In addition to this, Schaefer (2002) expressed culture as it is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, material objects, knowledge, and behaviors (Schaefer, 2002). Ezenagu (2014) also described it as a word that defines man’s adaptation, communication, and relationship with the environment that could help the community to go forward with customs, ceremonies, dance, folklore, norms, religion, rituals, traditions, arts, crafts, language, dress, food, architecture and landscape. In turn, experiencing the above exotic invaluable material heritages gave rise to cultural travel, while tourism (travel) consumes culture. Therefore, the commodification of products is the way to consume culture (Ezenagu, 2014).

To have good tourism, culture needs to be transformed as the tourism product and continue based on the demands of tourists. Hence, tourism activity in any heritage site transforms heritage resources into attraction through commodification, and commercial value; it gave rise to the consumption of cultural products (Rodzi et al., 2013). As a result, cultural tourism can encourage the revival of the traditions and restoration of heritage sites and encourages host communities with economic activities as demanded by tourists (Wedow & MacCannell, 1977; Zedková & Kajzar, 2013). This form of tourism and exotic culture also represents heritage destination attractiveness, socialization, tourism, and trade where cultural materials and activities are raw materials for cultural tourism and an umbrella for culture-focused tourism activities (Danesi et al., 2017).

4. Ethiopian heritage resources

As it is stated earlier, Ethiopia is endowed with various natural and cultural heritage resources, of which amazing human creativity is found in different parts of the country. Those heritages ranged from biodiversity, cultural practices, built environment, indigenous knowledge, historic places, and landscapes, which became the driver and asset of the tourism industry (Levine, 2004:12). Scholars acknowledged that national cultural heritage is measured as an important tourism attraction and continues to grow in the area. The Ethiopian national heritage conservation agency should declare those cherished cultural products as national monuments and enlist those profound heritages as the tentative lists in UNESCO for endorsement (N. Dudley, 2008:7).

Heritages are the major repository of the country and assets of tourism. Even if Ethiopia has thirteen heritages enlisted as world heritage by UNESCO, many tangible and intangible heritages are gazetted in the national repository such as Bale Mountains National Park, Dirre Sheik Hussein Religious, Cultural and Historical Site, Sof Omar Cave, Sacred Landscapes of Tigray, Melka Kunture and Balchit, Gedeo Cultural Landscape, Cultural Heritage of Yeha and Lake Tana Island Monasteries and its Adjacent Wetland Natural and Cultural Heritages

(UNESCO, 2015). These heritages are acknowledged for their inherent importance and marvelous significance throughout the state. The Ethiopian cultural industry is one of the oldest and most diverse (Karbo, 2013:190; Levine, 2004: 24). In addition to this, the country is endowed with four intangible heritages are Irrecha, Mesqel, Epiphany, and Chambelala and cultural practices designated world heritage status (MOCT, 2017). The landscape of the country is also superior, with numerous religions that include Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and other traditional religions (Jenkins, 2011:176). These religious communities are living peacefully, which indicates the existence of social cohesion in the country (Barth, 1998).Therefore, the country enables the international tourist influx and increases the socioeconomic well-being of the community through safeguarding, harnessing, and promoting those assets(K.F. Dudley, 2009:10–13). Therefore, this paper primarily focused on identifying the tangible cultural heritages, show their qualities and contribution to sustainable cultural tourism development in the country. The following figure 1 represents the tangible heritages enlisted as a world heritage sites in the country.

Figure 1. UNESCO world heritage sites of Ethiopia (Quaestiones Geographicae 31(1), 2012).

The eight tangible cultural heritages of Ethiopia’s brief descriptions and qualities are expressed as follows one by one. Identifying their qualities of them opens the door to discuss their contribution to the presence of sustainable cultural tourism in the area.

4.1. The rock-hewn church of Lalibela

Ethiopia is well-known for its culture of rock-cut churches. These rock-hewn churches prospered during the Zagwe period (from 1150–1270) and their construction was attributed to one of the prominent kings of the Zagwe dynasty, Lalibela that centered in Lasta (Finneran, 2007a; Sergew, 1972). These rock-hewn churches are carved out of solid rocks which are divided into monolithic, semi-monolithic, and cave churches. The classifications of these rock-hewn churches are based on the degree of their separation from the mother rock and the way of their excavation (Finneran, 2007a). Lalibela is the home of eleven rock-hewn churches which are hewn out of the living rock in a massive rectangular form from top to down (Bidder, 1958; Gerster, 1970; Sergew, 1972:271; Pankhurst, 2005:49). Indeed, there are impressive ornate roofs, ceilings, floors of varying levels, individual rooms, windows, columns, arches, dwellings, defensive trenches, and productive structures (Gerster, 1970; Angelini, 1967; Girma & Elisabeth, 1983: 210; UNESCO, 2008:11).

These churches are also divided into three groups based on their location and access: namely; the northern, eastern, and western groups. The northern group embraces six churches (Bete Medhane Alem, Bete Maryam, Bete Mesqel, Bete Danaghel, Bete Golgotha, and Bete Mikael). From this group, Bete Medhane Alem and Bete Maryam are monolithic and the others are semi-monolithic. In addition, Bete Medhane Alem, Bete Maryam, and Bete Golgotha are famous for their unique features. Bete Maryam has outer porches and mural paintings. Bete Medhane Alem is situated out due to its enormous size and the large number of pillars and Bete Golgotha represents base relief figures, several altars, and the existence of the tomb of King Lalibela. The last impressive rock-hewn church in this group is Bete Denagil which lacks decorations and the smallest one is Bete Meskel (Baye, 2003; Bidder, 1958; Gerster, 1970; Sergew, 1972:271).

The eastern group also comprises four churches (Bete Gabriel-Rafael, Bete Amanuel, Bete Mercurious, and Abba Libanos) which are situated south of the Jordan River and alienated from a rock plateau in the east, north, and south by a wider outer channel. Among this group, Bete Amanuel is solely monolithic and the foyer of Bete Gabriel is unknown (Gerster, 1970; Angelini, 1967; Girma & Elisabeth, 1983: 210; UNESCO, 2008:11).

The last western group is composed of one church, Bete Giyorgis which is cross-shaped and monolithic. The building is inside the quad; the walls are faintly tapered and have a horizontal band that appears completely symmetric. In addition, the nine windows of the church are blind and mimic the monkey-head framework (Sergew, 1972:271; Finneran, 2007a:230–23; Phillipson, 2009:124; Asfawossen & Yodit, 2010).

The churches of Lalibela are an important element of national identity and pride that constitute symbols of the paramount architectural, religious, and economic documentary, archaeological, historical, and politically significant for the people of the country (Sergew, 1972:276–277; Mengistu, 2004). In the case of architecture, various artistic expressions in and out of each church building have their influence on artists and are a source of admiration for visitors. The churches also bring a sense of inspiration, hope, and symbolized Jerusalem for Christians in the religious aspect. Furthermore, they are sources of income for the local communities (Sergew, 1972:276–277).

4.2. Fasil ghebbi

It is a palace located in Gondar, the capital of Ethiopia in the 17^th c. The city contains some castles built in the period between 1632 to 1855, and it was the home of emperor Fasiledes and other emperors during this period (Lindahl, 1970; Montidella, 1938). It is also the only city in the country that owns castle architecture, which was inscribed as a world heritage by UNESCO in 1979 (Berry, 1986). The Compound contains fascinating historic sites of Bakaffa castle, Dawit castle, Fasiledes castle, queen Mentewab castle, Yohannis castle, and three Churches: Debre Birhan Selassie Church, the Monastery of Qusqam palace, and Kidus Yohannis Church (Hill, 1979; Kal, 1983).

The castle of Fasiledes is an incredible castle among others and was built in the 1630s and early 1640s. The castle shows an imitation of the unique architectural style of Portuguese, Aksumite, and even Indians (Biggs, 2005). The castle has a bedroom on the second floor, a dining and reception area on the ground floor, the king’s prayer room on the first floor, and a roof where religious ceremonies were held. All walls of this castle are decorated, which represent the Star of David (Biggs, 2005; Selamawit, 2013). Emperor Yohannis I, who ruled the country from 1667-1682, built the second castle found in Fasil Ghebbi that contains unique charms with warm colors and bold lines. The emperor used this castle for discussion of theology (Biggs, 2005). After Yohannis I, emperor Eyasu I was succeeded who built his palace and ruled the country from 1682–1706. His castle was enormous and the ceiling of it was adorned with Gold and Stones. However, in 1707, the ceiling of the ground floor was devastated by the bombardment of the British during the First World War.

In 1716, another emperor, emperor Dawit, the son of Eyasu I succeeded. He built his castle, which measures 30 meters and 12.3 meters wide at the royal enclosure. The emperor used this castle as the center of religious and secular ceremonies (Pankhurst, 1969). Next to Emperor Dawit, his brother, Emperor Bakaffa, built a castle and ruled the country from 1721–1730. His castle has an immense banquette hall, which is the last structure of the imperial compound (Jean, 1959). The last castle was the Empress Mentewab, who ruled the country from 1730-1770 as a de facto ruler. Her castle is located at the north extremity of the compound and rich in battlements, arches, and base-reliefs with a small squared storey at the top.

The Fasil Ghebbi also embodies three churches. The first church is Debre Birhan Selassie which is the oldest church in the city and was founded by emperor Eyasu I. It has a rectangular arrangement with a round shape. The church is universally known for its murals and paintings that include saints and Jesus Christ around in its walls and ceiling (Carillent and Phillipson, 2009; Biggs, 2005). The qusqam monastery is another church that is built by empress Mentewab as her residence. The church has paintings, refined works of art such as the passion of Christ and the life of Mary, prophets, and saints, and is decorated with crosses, animals, and red volcanic tuffs (Chiri, 2012; Biggs, 2005). The last church in Fasil Ghebbi is Kidus Yohannis church which was built by Ras Welde Leul from 1942–1943. The original structure of this church resembled the Gondarian castle before it was destroyed in the 1880s.

Indeed, Fasil Ghebbi’s tangible and intangible legacies are the representation of the channel of communication and the carrier of the memory between the past and the present. It is also a source of spiritual satisfaction for the present Christian communities. Architecturally, it describes the most extraordinary 17^th c Ethiopian Architecture.

4.3. Aksum obelisks

The city is found in northern Ethiopia, which became the center of kings from 400 B.C. to the tenth century. The town is the center of magnificent stelae, the graves of king Kaleb, Gebre Meskel, and the Bath of Queen Sheba (Beek, 1967; Bent, 1896). The obelisks of Aksum are monolithic; they are found in scattered places in the town of Aksum and have an outstanding universal value. It is inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1980 by fulfilling the two world convention criteria: Criteria (I) stipulates a masterpiece of human creative genius that includes both the decorated and undecorated stelae and criteria (IV) insists on an outstanding example of building, architectural or technological assemblage (UNESCO, 2013).

The obelisk of Aksum is one thousand seven hundred years old. It has also twenty-three meters of granite stelae, and it is decorated with two false doors and windows (Finneran, 2007a; Phillipson, 1997). In addition, the obelisks of Aksum end with a semi-circular shape, which made it attractive to different tourists around the world (Fattovich, 1987; Plant, 1985; Poissonnier, 2012). The stelae of Aksum, which are carved in the representation of buildings, are numbered 1 up to 6 based on their size. Among the six stelae, stelae 1 are the largest that measure almost 30 m high, but now it is broken. Likewise, stelae 2 are broken and fallen and it was taken to Rome in 1938 during the Italian occupation of the country. In addition, stelae 4, 5, and 6 are broken and fallen. The only stelae that still stands at Aksum is stelae 3. All stelae of Aksum are widely accepted as funeral buildings and demonstrate Aksumite stone working technology during the period (Anfray, 1968; Beek, 1967; Fattovich, 1987; Littmann, 1913; Sergew, 1972).

4.4. Tiya stelae

The megalithic tradition of Ethiopia has been studied since the 1920s and the country is regarded as the land of megalithic culture (Anfray, 1982; Joussaume, 1974, 1995).The megalithic culture of Ethiopia falls into three groups: Dolmens, Stelae, and Tumuli (Joussaume, 1974). The megalithic sites of Tiya exhibit a tradition characterized by stelae which are regarded as burial sites dated between the 11^th and 13 c A.D (Anfray, 1982; Joussaume, 1995). There are fourteen sites within Gurageland fall between 37°30’ and 38° 50ʹE and 7° 46’ and 8° 48’ N (Muluneh, 1994). The Tiya stelae have varied between the ranges of 1986 meters in Sodo to 2723 meters in Mehur-Aklil (Bahn, 2001). They are considered as the constituent indicator of permanent settlement where there are water supplies, defensive positions, and farmland (Bahn, 2001).

The Tiya stelae possess anthropomorphic, phallic and neither anthropomorphic nor phallic shapes. Both anthropomorphic and phallic-shaped stelae are flat (Fukui, 1997). There are also twelve decorated stelae in Sodo and undecorated in Mehur- Aklil. In addition, some symbols signify power, social organization, and the economy of the society. For instance, the engraving of daggers on the fallen stelae indicates the burial of the warrior or hunter and tree engraving symbolizes the ritual of the society (Anfray, 1982).

4.5. Lower omo valley

It is located in the southwest of the country and extends an area of 165 km².This site is known for its deposit of hominids and animal bones that are important for the study of human development. The site also includes the area of Konso and Fejej going back to the plio-Pleistocene period that produced various animal bones and hominids, including Australopithecus. The site sheds light on the early development of humans and the discovery of ancient stone tools (Boisserie et al., 2008; Coppens, 1976). On this site, there are oldwana stone tools which indicate that the earliest human beings used them to fulfill their day-to-day lives (Hovers, 2009).

Scientific research revealed that since 1966, the site contributes to archaeological, geological, paleo-anthropological, and environmental studies. Based on the two criteria of the world heritage convention (criteria III and IV), the site is spectacular for its unique technical and cultural activities in pre-historic times. It was enlisted as a world heritage site in 1980 for Ethiopia (Chavaillon, 1977; Hovers, 2009; Howell, 1976).

4.6. Lower awash valley

It is the paleo-anthropological site that is located 300 km northeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, west of the Afar depression, and covers 150 km². The remains found on the site dated back to 4 million years ago give evidence of human evolution where Lucy was one of the spectacular skeletons discovered in 1974 (Campisano & Feibel, 2007; Goldman & Hovers, 2012). The Excavation was begun in 1973 by international paleo-anthropologists and historians, who found large quantities of fossilized hominids and animal bones (Kimbel, 2009; Reed, 2008).

Lucy was a female complete skeleton dated back to 3.2 million years ago and grouped under Australopithecus afarensis. The site is enlisted as a world heritage site because of its evidence of hominids and animal bones, its exceptional antiquity, and its evidence of human development based on the World Heritage convention criteria II, III, and IV. It was enlisted as a world heritage site in 1980 (Ward et al., 2011; Yemane, 1997).

4.7. Harar jugol

The city of Harar was founded in the 8^th century by merging seven clans to defend themselves from enemies and the name it was given by Sheik Abadir in the 12^thc, came from Arabia (Philippe & Serge, 2004). Harar became the center of the powerful sultanate of Adal from 1520–77. Emir Nur Ebin Mujhad was responsible for securing from the Christian kingdom and the Oromo and the construction of the outer wall of the city was inaugurated by the Emir starting in 1552 (Harar Jugol, the Fortified Historic Town, 2006). Henceforth, Jugol has five gates, which became the gateway to the outside world (Philippe & Serge, 2004; Kaleb, 2016).

The historic city of Harar exhibits the original Islamic culture expressed in the city, a trading place, an example of an outstanding architectural and urban ensemble, and a traditional human settlement. The city of Harar is the center of Islamic learning and it is recognized as the fourth holiest city of Islam in the world (A. Mengistu, 1988; Wilding, 1976). It has the most prominent and ancient 82 mosques in the walled town. Side by side, it embodies houses that are grouped into traditional, mixed, and Indian houses. The city was also the center of trade with the Arabian Peninsula, central Ethiopia, and the east African coast, Zanzibar. The people cast their coins known as mahlag and ashraf. All the above-listed elements facilitated the nomination of the city as a world heritage by UNESCO in 2006 (Fritz, 1989; Hisham, 2010).

4.8. Konso cultural landscape

The people of Konso are known for the indigenous practice of stone-based terracing, integrated Agro-forestry, and mixed agriculture. They are more egalitarian, where the social institution obliged them to participate in terracing buildings and plantations (Tadesse, 2010; Forch, 2003). Hence, the uncongenial topography was transformed into an incredible landscape of terraces, which helped to conserve every drop of rain, protect against soil erosion, and yield intemperance water over the cultural dams (Forch, 2003). The highlands of the area are green, dense, mountainous, and topped by orderly villages which made the surroundings spectacular (Forch, 2003; Fisher, 1990).

Some moras are taken as another cultural landscape of the area. This cultural landscape consists of cultural, ritual, public, and ceremonial features like big huts used as men’s sleeping places, dancing fields, large stone slabs for sitting, manhood or masculinity stelae, and tall juniper posts that are erected to commemorate generation power transfer, wooden statues, oval-shaped stones used to sharpen ritual hunting spears, swearing or oath-taking stones, pebble and pit playing wooden board, stretcher to carry sick people to health centers or corpses to burial places, and wooden sticks used as musical instruments during ritual dancing (Ambron, 1997: 382; Metasebia,1997; Hallpike, 1966).

In light of this, the places represent the record of the living cultural landscape, original agricultural terraces, and fortified stone towns. They also built cultural dams called harta to save water during the rainy season, which in turn combat climate change. Henceforth, this landscape had recognition and was registered as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2011 (Baye, 2003).

5. Sustainable cultural tourism development in Ethiopia

By opening the door to tourists, Ethiopia achieved sustainable cultural tourism development through the qualities of the above cultural heritages since their enlistment as World Heritage Sites. In the view of development, sustainability is taken as the priority in the world, of which the United Nations coined the term in 1972 to pressurize actions on development. The phrase sustainable development denotes the balance of human needs with the wise use of finite resources. However, after the Rio Earth Summit of 1972, the concept of sustainable development broadened into three supportive rudiments that are economic growth, environmental protection, and social equity (UNESCO, 2013).

The presence of sustainable tourism depended on sustainable environmental, social, and economic viable activities which require compatibility of the needs of the host community and the visitors that can help for the protection and enhancement of tourism attractions to be part of the national economy in the future. Based on this guise, tourism development can be viable economically, equitable socially, and bearable ecologically in the long run. This is because tourism is depending on the environment and uses an extensive environment (cultural, economic, political, and social).

In the case of heritages, sustainability implies the continuous use and conservation of cultural and natural heritages as a tourism resource. It is considered as part of the environment that requires protection, transmission to generation, and conservation for sustainable development. This can be achieved by sustainable tourism management (Dewar, 2005).

Indeed, sustainable tourism in Ethiopia is achieved and safeguarded by the integrity, and fabric of Ethiopian heritage resources both by destination and visitation. Hence, sustainable tourism in Ethiopia is attempting to balance cultural diversity, economic growth, and environmental protection in partial (Tadelech, 2020). The economic, social, and environmental sustainability of cultural tourism in Ethiopia is stated as follows.

6. Economic sustainability

Starting with their enlistment, the cultural heritage of the country were able to establish economic sustainability, thanks to the visiting of the cultural heritages already mentioned. Wide numbers of jobs are being created for the residents of tourist destinations thanks to cultural tourism. Since the industry requires a lot of labor, it offers different employment opportunities to the host town residents (Farid, 2015). It opens up doors for several small business owners and the growth of a variety of small-sized businesses. Compared to other industries, it provides more opportunities for women and young people to find work (Ayalew, 1992). For instance, sales of different commodities such as belts and crosses around Lalibela rock-hewn churches played a remarkable economic growth of Lalibela and created job opportunities for local people. On the one hand, sales of traditional clothes especially Yehabesha qemis around Fasil Gehbbi and Harar Jugol contributed a lot to the development of people’s economy in the area. In addition, around Lower Omo, Lower Awash, and Aksum Obelisks, jobs are created like trading of traditional drinks such as Tela, Areqi, and Shameta for Vistors. Furthermore, in Konso and the surrounding areas, traditional foods like Awaze are sold to visitors of the Konso cultural landscape. In this way, new economic opportunities could present in the country by exploiting the Rock-hewn Churches, Tiya Stelae, Aksum Obelisks, Lower Omo Valley, the Lower Awash Valley, Fasil Ghebbi, Harar Jugol, and Konso Cultural Landscape as tourism resources (Shimelis, 2008).

7. Social sustainability

Researchers have found three main socio-cultural benefits of sustainable cultural tourism in Ethiopia. These include the encouragement of social stability, the promotion of intercultural understanding, and the motivational value of cultural tourism in protecting regional culture and history. Additionally, it opens up more chances to enhance infrastructure, including parks, roads, and spaces for outdoor enjoyment. In addition, it developed a beloved image of the places that support local pride in their society’s membership, facilitate modernization, and offer educational possibilities (Farid, 2015; Temesgen, 2013).

The rebirth of traditional arts and crafts was also fueled by cultural tourism, particularly in the areas surrounding the cultural heritage sites mentioned above. Crafts such as weaving grow in the area where the cultural heritages situated on. Weavers create different cultural cloths and sold to tourists. It also significantly contributed to the promotion and encouragement of improved understanding between people of various nationalities and cultural backgrounds, the revival and preservation of the local handicraft industry, the preservation of the cultural identity of the host population, the expansion of cultural exchanges with foreigners, and the development of greater tolerance for social differences in Ethiopia (Agumas, 2012). In addition, the satisfaction of tourists in the presence of good hospitality, facilities and beauty of the cultural heritages sustained the cultural tourism in the country. Tourists amazed by the cultural heritages especially by Harar Jugol, Fasil Ghebbi, Akusum Obelisks and Tiya Stelae because of their longevity without losing their originality until now.

8. Environmental sustainability

Similar to how tourism is sustainable in terms of the economy and society, Ethiopia’s environment is likewise sustainable. It has two advantages: it preserves and improves the area’s environmental resources and offers great potential for maintaining cultural tourism. Ethiopians become more environmentally conscious and feel a sense of responsibility when tourists visit, which encourages them to safeguard the environment and preserve ancient places. As a result, the nation has attained environmental sustainability. Cultural site preservation and protection operate as a draw for tourists. If there were no cultural tourism in the nation, especially for the castles, such conserved sites might not have appeared and be present now (Gebranynya, 2011). Hence, all cultural heritages are preserved and conserved to strengthen cultural tourism in the country in different periods. Museums are opened in each area of the cultural heritages for their preservation and conservation purpose.

The other sustainability includes infrastructural development in and around the cultural heritages including improvements to hotels, road transportation, and ICT services. Such facilities are essential to drawing large numbers of tourists to a location. Infrastructures are another feature that attracts tourists to a location. Ethiopian Air transport is the leading and contributes for the development of the tourism sector. There are airports in every part of the above listed cultural heritages where tourists freely used them since their enlistment as World Heritage sites. In Such advancements in Ethiopia frequently gratify visitors. As a result, more people are visiting the areas surrounding cultural places, which help the presence of sustainable cultural tourism (Asmelash & Kumar, 2019).

Even if the above qualities are seen in the development of cultural tourism in the country, some challenges hinder the movement of tourists freely in the past and present especially in the period from 2019 to the present. There are factors that caused fluctuation and broke the continuation of sustainable cultural tourism in the country. Factors are presented as follows as a sub-topic.

9. Challenges of cultural heritage tourism in Ethiopia

There are problems that broke sustainability of the cultural tourism in the area starting from recent years. The following are the main ones.

10. Theft and illicit trafficking

Theft and illegal trafficking are major issues in Ethiopia, and Lalibela churches are particularly vulnerable to these issues (Negussie et al., 2012) Many of the church’s treasured treasures continue to be victims today (Ayalew, 2002; Farid, 2015; Mengistu, 2008). Mengistu (2008), asserts that the primary targets of theft are EOTC manuscripts, icons, and crosses. One of the victims of thievery is the church treasures. Therefore, the church’s treasures are off-limits to tourists out of concern about theft.

11. Globalization

The majority of Ethiopian youngsters emulate western tourists’ cultural practices and manner of life. Their speech, nutrition, and clothing choices are now a serious problem. One of the industry’s leading authorities asserts that the globalization virus is eradicating the local communities’ original cultures (Amha, 2008). Many foreign visitors stay in Ethiopia for two to three days to experience the nation’s rich cultural and natural heritage. However, international visitors demonstrate their new culture to the local youth during their extended stay in the place they have visited. Adopting local customs is frequently discouraged in the nation. As a result, the region loses its identity and distinctive culture (Dagnachew, 2018). To avoid such circumstances, the government of Ethiopia limits the number of visitors in the suspected areas where the above situation has occurred.

12. Political instability

The tourism industry is very sensitive and fragile. It needs peace more than any other industry. Since there is no peace as a result of the struggle between the Prosperity Party and the TPLF, especially in the northern regions of Ethiopia (Amhara and Tigray regional states), starting in 2020, no visitor may move from one site to the other. The civil war caused a drop in the number of tourists in the two regions where Aksum obelisks, Lalibela churches, and Fasil Ghebbi are found. Therefore, these heritages are less valuable to tourism (Atsbha et al., 2019; Dagnachew, 2018).

13. COVID-19

Ethiopia is home to many tourism destinations, including historical and archaeological sites, however, the COVID-19 outbreak led to a 70% decline in tourism earnings and significant employment losses, and the conflict that erupted in the nation’s north made things worse (Atsbha et al., 2019; Dagnachew, 2018). The pandemic broke the sustainability of cultural tourism in Ethiopia as well as in the world. Still present, visitors are low and some of them are afraid of moving to out of the capital, Addis Ababa.

14. Conclusion

Human environments and activities can be transformed into attractions through tourism by increasing the number of destinations with the product of cultural and historical relevance that, in turn, gave rise to cultural tourism. Ethiopia is given by nature diversified human and natural heritage throughout the country where high and profitable investment can surround it. The country is on the move to diversify its economy from service delivery and considers tourism as the leading economic sector.

Cultural heritages play a vital role in preserving cultural values and educating the nation in the past. As well as heritages have strong potential to promote the country’s socio-economic development. The eight UNESCO cultural heritage sites in Ethiopia show the cultural and economic bearing of the heritage. At these sites, both the cultural activities and historical values have attracted attention at international and domestic levels. Nowadays, Ethiopians’ are participating in tricks at heritage sites as it is a remark of cultural identity. All the heritages are relegating international assets that will open the wide range of flow of international tourism in the country.

In no gainsaying, heritage will linger as the major product of tourism, of which its transformation and consumption will yield the preservation and conservation of the resources. To yield such an event, the vast and rich cultural heritages of the country must reposition to partners with tourism as it is a driver of the economy. As a result, these resources have to consider the destinations’ competitiveness and cultural tourism product where this synergy is more important to the economy of the country. Here, culture is seen as a motivating factor for visitation. Indeed, cultural tourism is essential because it increases the tourist experience; enhances understanding of cultures of the globe, preserves heritage sites as well as maintains peaceful co-existence in different cultural areas of the country. In essence, many communities share a common identity because of communal ownership of heritage resources today.

Sustainable cultural tourism in the country offers social, economic and environmental sustainability. Therefore, to sustain cultural tourism in the country, a sustainable cultural tourism policy is essential. The government and other stakeholders need to create valuable and advantageous laws to protect and conserve such heritages for continuous use by the host communities and international societies. Clear law is mandatory to have sustainable cultural tourism in hand and on the ground. Such laws are important to the sustainable management of heritages.

In conclusion, these heritage resources are the indicator of survival, a representation of huge human creations across the globe, as well as major assets for tourism development. Heritage resources, as a vital tourism product, can be used to educate visitors about the value of both cultural and natural assets. As result, these heritages, particularly World Heritage sites, are proficiently managed as a driver of sustainable tourism resources by minimizing the existing challenges that are why it addresses economic, environmental, and social issues.

15. Recommendation

The author recommends further research to address the following issues: sustainable tourism for economic development, the relationship between culture and heritages, conservation of heritages for sustainable economic development, and state the responsibility of all citizens on how to promote and conserve heritages.

Acknowledgements

I have big honor for my Staff member, Anwar Ayano who initiated me to write this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Getahun Worku Tadesse

Getahun Worku is a lecturer of Historic Archaeology at Werabe University, Ethiopia. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in History and Heritage Management and a master of Art in Historic Archaeology. He taught for more than four years at this institution. His research areas of interest revolve around Historic Archaeology, Museum Studies, Visual Art, and Heritage Conservation.