Eritrea in tourism drive

[UAK]

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/10/26/eritrea.tourism.reut/index.html


The Gorgusum beach at Massawa is said to be good for snorkelling and diving, with well-preserved corals and an abundance of fish.


GELALO, Eritrea (Reuters) -- Rising out of the shimmering heat of the Eritrean desert, the Hotel Gelalo offers tired, dusty tourists a refuge from the burning sun.  But in one of Africa's hottest corners, where even camels huddle in the shade of small, leafless acacia trees, Eritrea's newest tourist project has greeted few visitors so far.  "We expected to have more customers than this," said one staff member at the luxurious hotel, where only a handful of the 25 rooms were occupied.  The fat cream-colored stone pillars and shaded corridors of the Gelalo, which the government says was built using cheap military labor, overlook the dramatic, rocky Red Sea coast.

Adorned with modern art sculptures and antique Italian cannons, it promises peace and quiet for just $20 a room. The hotel is on the main route between the port of Massawa and the southern coastal town of Assab, but it remains remote, reached only after several hours along a bumpy road.  Eritrea's government says the country attracts about 150,000 tourists a year, and it wants to boost that to more than 600,000 before 2020. Tourism Minister Amina Nurhussien says Hotel Gelalo is just the first step.

"We are inviting big investors to come," she said, adding that the coast road would soon be completed to make access easier. More visitors will also be drawn to the area by Massawa international airport which was completed in January, she said.
Border tensions.  Since the state-owned Hotel Gelalo threw open its doors earlier this year, it has remained a rather forlorn island of comfort in a blistering landscape.  "It's in a very odd place for a hotel, because there are no other facilities anywhere around," said one American traveler who had recently stayed at the hotel. "It's so strange."

Private investor interest in tourism has largely been restricted to Eritrea's large diaspora 

Some are concerned that the sector will be held back by government red tape and by travelers' fears that the region remains unstable because of lingering tensions after a 1998-2000 border war with neighboring Ethiopia.  The conflict between the Horn of Africa neighbors killed 70,000 people and there has been a political deadlock since 2002 when Ethiopia refused to accept a demarcation decision by an independent boundary commission.  Some 165,000 tourists a year used to come to Eritrea before the war, but the conflict and its aftershocks have hampered the Red Sea state's ability to carve out a bigger slice of the lucrative east African tourism pie.

Border tensions resurfaced in recent weeks when Eritrea banned U.N. helicopters from its airspace reducing the capacity of the 3,300-strong U.N. Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) to monitor military movements.  Diplomats in the capital Asmara were also skeptical about the government's commitment to supporting business.  "I believe in the tourist potential of this country, but it will never be realized while they are so 'anti' the private sector," said one western diplomat.

"The difference between what they express on the private sector and what they practice is very large."
Poor infrastructure

Earlier this year, the International Monetary Fund said the lack of transparent regulation and the growing role of the state in commercial activities was undermining investor confidence.

But there are some glimmers of hope. Italian-Eritrean Primo Giovanni returned to his Horn of Africa home after 42 years as a businessman in Italy and now owns hotels in Asmara, Massawa and on the Dahlak Islands.

"I like to spend money in my country. When I get $10, I want to invest in my country," he told Reuters in his latest venture, the capital's plush Albergo Italiana hotel.

"I was born in Eritrea. My parents are Eritreans."

But his new hotel's grand opening has been delayed by several months because of a lack of water. The antique-style furniture and paintings remain locked behind tall green gates in a tidy backstreet.

Giovanni says poor infrastructure has often left him short of supplies -- to the annoyance of some of his guests.

"Gin they have, but tonic? The Brits go crazy," he said.

Like many residents, Giovanni sees the unfinished border dispute with Ethiopia as the major hurdle to boosting tourism, not government policies on business.

The border between Eritrea and Ethiopia has still not been demarcated despite an agreement to do so following the war. And both sides continue preparing for the possibility that conflict could break out again.

"If we can solve the Ethiopian issue, many Italian investors will come," Giovanni said.

Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[J Bananas]

funny...my rich white family was talking last Christmas about purchasing a small village there, along with women and children so they could get my Aunt Donna's purse company off the ground. Wouldn't that be great!

[UAK]

funny...my rich white family was talking last Christmas about purchasing a small village there, along with women and children so they could get my Aunt Donna's purse company off the ground. Wouldn't that be great!

Wrong country - Southeast Asia 

[King Tech Quadafi]

yall need to keep making sure your borders are secured, before building tourist destinations

[UAK]

yall need to keep making sure your borders are secured, before building tourist destinations

Yep...people still come tho  and we gotta to deal w/terrorist, Americans/Jews/Europeans and Islamic Fundamentalist.

[Teddy Roosevelt]

yall need to keep making sure your borders are secured, before building tourist destinations

Yep...people still come tho  and we gotta to deal w/terrorist, Americans/Jews/Europeans and Islamic Fundamentalist.

And Isaias Afwerki

[UAK]

yall need to keep making sure your borders are secured, before building tourist destinations

Yep...people still come tho  and we gotta to deal w/terrorist, Americans/Jews/Europeans and Islamic Fundamentalist.

And Isaias Afwerki

Not

[Teddy Roosevelt]

yall need to keep making sure your borders are secured, before building tourist destinations

Yep...people still come tho  and we gotta to deal w/terrorist, Americans/Jews/Europeans and Islamic Fundamentalist.

And Isaias Afwerki

Not

Is

[UAK]

yall need to keep making sure your borders are secured, before building tourist destinations

Yep...people still come tho  and we gotta to deal w/terrorist, Americans/Jews/Europeans and Islamic Fundamentalist.

And Isaias Afwerki

Not

Is

Is not

[Teddy Roosevelt]

yall need to keep making sure your borders are secured, before building tourist destinations

Yep...people still come tho  and we gotta to deal w/terrorist, Americans/Jews/Europeans and Islamic Fundamentalist.

And Isaias Afwerki

Not

Is

Is not

Is 

[UAK]

yall need to keep making sure your borders are secured, before building tourist destinations

Yep...people still come tho  and we gotta to deal w/terrorist, Americans/Jews/Europeans and Islamic Fundamentalist.

And Isaias Afwerki

Not

Is

Is not

Is 

[Teddy Roosevelt]

yall need to keep making sure your borders are secured, before building tourist destinations

Yep...people still come tho  and we gotta to deal w/terrorist, Americans/Jews/Europeans and Islamic Fundamentalist.

And Isaias Afwerki

Not

Is

Is not

Is 

Is

[Sofa_King_Awesome]

Somalia> Eritrea> Ethopia

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Somalia> Eritrea> Ethopia

What have you been smoking?
Eri>Ethiopia>Somalia

[King Tech Quadafi]

LOL

Ghana Mans >Nigerians > Eriterians > Ethiopians > Somalians > Sudanese