ADDIS ABABA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The number of international arrivals in Ethiopia dropped by 35.5 percent as of March 2020 due to decreased flights cancelled by the Ethiopian Airlines Group which flies to over 80 destinations worldwide from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report said on Friday.

"While Ethiopia may see a decline in tourism this year, it still shows tremendous potential. Its home to nine world heritage sites and the government has highlighted tourism as a key contributor to economic growth along with plans to improve the investment landscape of the tourism sector in order to address potential hurdles investors may face," a new report released by the JLL Hotels and Hospitality Group on Friday read.

According to the report, among the newly introduced initiatives by the Ethiopian government to improve the investment landscape in the tourism sector include relaxed visa policies enabling nationals as well as residents from the 55-member African Union (AU) to obtain visa on arrival.

The report stressed that Ethiopia's international visitors from 2014 to 2019 have yet to pass one million and as of March 2020, international arrivals decreased by 35.5 percent year-on-year to 118,950 mainly due to decreased flights cancelled by Ethiopian Airlines.

The global real estate investment and advisory firm released its overview of the hotel industry in Ethiopia on Friday. The report examines the factors that make Ethiopia a unique tourist destination as well as the impact of COVID-19 to tourism in Ethiopia and beyond.

According to the report released by the JLL Hotels and Hospitality Group, positive economic growth and the increase in foreign investment will positively impact corporate demand for the hotel sector.

It also stressed that Addis Ababa is expected to see an increase in corporate, NGO and diplomatic demand over the next few years. Ethiopia currently has upward of 21 internationally branded hotels under development which in theory could add around 4,300 rooms, it was noted.

"With poor hotel infrastructure in major tourism destinations throughout the country, opportunities could be found to develop hotels and lodges in these areas to attract domestic and international travelers," the report read.

According to the Ethiopia Ministry of Health, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the East African country reached 11,933 as of Thursday evening, while the death toll from the pandemic also climbed to 197. Enditem

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