Ethiopia is a Safe Travel Destination for Tourists, Czech Bird Watchers
Despite the western media unsubstantiated news, Ethiopia is a safe travel destination for tourists, Czech bird watchers who are visiting the country have said.
A 15-member of the Czech Society for Ornithology is currently visiting different bird sights across Ethiopia.
The Czech Society for Ornithology (CSO) with members of more than 5,000 is a non-governmental organization uniting bird watchers, nature lovers, amateurs, and professionals interested in the research and protection of birds.
Tomas Poyar, one of the members of the group said; “we have traveled hundreds of kilo meters and watch lots of different places and people in Ethiopia. And yet we have not seen problem of any kind.”
He said that the county is very safe for tourists adding: “ I don’t expect any problem during my stay in Ethiopia.”
Ethiopia is a rich country to see different types of birds, which we don’t see in Europe and Czech Republic, Poyar added.
As a member of Czech Society for Ornithology, he urged other members to come and visit this country without worries.
Dr. Miroslave Capek, from the Institute of Vertebrate Biology Czech Academy of Sciences, on his part said all 15 members of the society are visiting Ethiopia for the first time.
Regarding the safety and security of the country for tourists, though some international media said otherwise, the group members are surprised that Ethiopia is a safe country for tourists with hospitable people, he said.
According to him, Ethiopia is a great country for wild life diversity, variety of habitat and many species of animals including the endemics to Ethiopia.
“When we go back to Czech Republic, we will promote the safety, the hospitality and the beautiful culture of Ethiopia as well as its countryside and religions to the people of Czech in order to encourage them visit the country,” he added.
Upon the completion of the visit, the group members will write articles about the journey and post different bird pictures to help society members know more about Ethiopia.
Josef Nojichka, representative of Primarovte, Travel Agency who brings the bird watchers to Ethiopia said another team of Czech Bird watchers will come next November.
Czech Republic Ambassador to Ethiopia, Pavel Mikes, on his part said the tourists managed to travel to Ethiopia considering the fact that Ethiopia is a safe country to be visited.
He said bird watching is special kind of tourism that some European tourist are very much interested in.
With nearly 900 different bird varieties and some endemic, Ethiopia has a great potential for the sector, he added.
I know that the government of Ethiopia is doing a lot to increase tourists, he said.
If more medium size hotels are built in various places of tourist attraction, the ambassador expressed his belief that there would be a big potential of attracting European tourists to Ethiopia.
Over the next two weeks, the group will visit various parts of the country including the Awash National Park and different topographies of the country.
Source: Ethiopia News Agency