An Appraisal on the Church Museums of Addis Ababa as Tourist Attractions

Abraham Kidane Tesfaye
2019 Journal of World Economic Research  
This paper had done as part of a course work called Culture Based Tourism and was also served as a requirement for a Master Degree Program in Tourism and Development in 2012. As a result, all the used data and facts in this article were collected and referred in the same year. The study focused on assessing the church museums as a tourist attraction in Addis Ababa. Out of the thirteen all types of museums of the city, six of them are owned and administered by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
more » ... ms are one of the tourism attractions where many tourists flock to perceive the culture and history of human predecessors. The research employed both primary and secondary data which were gathered using interview and thorough observation, published and unpublished written materials, respectively. Using these methods, the research has investigated the three church museums which differ from other church museums in terms of collection, number of visitors and history. Thus, the researcher has deliberately selected on the basis of the above criteria i.e. Ta'aka Be'ata Mariam, Genet Tsige Kudis Georgis and Saint Mariam church museums. They were thoroughly studied and findings were drawn. The research revealed that the church museums have had challenges concerning facilities, absence of promotion, handling of heritages, skilled man power and enticing tourists. Besides, the research also identified the opportunities of the church museums. The research concluded that the church museums could avert the challenges and could capitalize on the prospects if all stakeholders be it government, private and NGOs could play their own role in the promotion, conservation and human development for the betterment of the church museums. Similarly, the church and the community could also play their own part for the progress of the museums.
doi:10.11648/j.jwer.20190801.13 fatcat:5q5rm3d3knajxl7kkoyeyt3h3e