Ethiopia: the world's best tourist destination for 2015?

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Simien Mountains National Park, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Amhara region, Ethiopia, Africa
Simien Mountains National Park, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Amhara region, Ethiopia, Africa




An east African country formerly renown for its devastating poverty and famines has just been named the world's best tourist destination for 2015.

Ethiopia has been singled out by the European Council on Tourism and Trade (ECTT) for its wide and varied historical and cultural attractions, peaceful and stable socio-economic and political situation and 'excellent preservation of humanity landmarks', among other things.

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There's no doubt that Ethiopia boasts some of the continent's most dramatic landscapes, including the Simien Mountain National Park (pictured, top) and the strange and eerie Danakil Depression (below).


Inside the explosion crater of Dallol volcano, Danakil Depression, Ethiopia
Inside the explosion crater of Dallol volcano, Danakil Depression, Ethiopia





In its application for the award, the Ethiopian government identified tourism as essential if it is to tackle poverty, writes the Daily Telegraph. "Ethiopia is the deserving candidate, with a perfect record of promoting social-friendly tourism, and a ecological and poverty reduction strategy based on tourism," said Senator Ionel Agrigoraoiei from the European Council.

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The award is a recognition of social oriented tourism that is supporting the development of marginal and rural communities and it is hoped that it will have a positive impact on the country's environmental problems. The country's wildlife and plant reservation has been rapidly declining owing to encroachment, illegal settlement, hunting, pollution, poaching and other human interference, according AllAfrica.


Zebras at the Nechisar National Park, Ethiopia, Africa
Zebras at the Nechisar National Park, Ethiopia, Africa



For instance, Nechisar National Park (above), which is well-known for its diverse combination of vegetation, is a habitat for the world's largest population of the endemic Swayne's hartebeest and an unusually large population of crocodiles. For centuries this area was uninhabited. Now, the wildlife and half of the park's biodiversity are under a very serious danger mostly to encroachment.

Around 20,000 Britons visit Ethiopia annually,reports the Telegraph.

Parts of the country are strictly off-limits, however. The Foreign Office advises against all travel to within 10km of the borders with Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya and Eritrea, and to parts of the country's north-eastern and south-eastern regions.

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