The characteristics, length of stay and motivation of foreign tourists who visit Simien Mountains National Park, World Heritage Site, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Travel and tourism is a growing industry which generated10.2% of global GDP and 292 million jobs in 2016, equivalent to 1 in 10 jobs in the global economy. Simien Mountains National Park (SMNP) is by far one of the most outstanding natural areas and thus one among the few natural heritage sites of the world. The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of SMNP visitors’ i.e. reasons for visiting, sources of information, length of stay, perception/image about SMNP and intention to revisit the SMNP. Management challenges include the fact that the numbers of visitors are increasing, expectations of what a recreational experience offers differ, and resources to develop sites are very limited along with the need to balance these multiple objectives while maintaining a positive tourism experience. A key to addressing these needs is an improved understanding of tourist characteristics. A cross-sectional study and survey research design was used to describe characteristics of visitors in the SMNP. The findings of this study will benefit the local communities, park tourism management, policy makers and service providers. The astonishing nature of landscape and scenery take the lion’s share of visitor’s motivation to visit the Simien Mountains National Park for tourism.

Keywords

• Visitor characteristics
• Semien Mountain National Park
• length of stay
• motivation
• image