By Miwodew Muluye
Addis Ababa (AMECO) — The Addis Ababa City Tourism Commission has hosted a dedicated city tour for senior residents to showcase the capital’s rapid infrastructure transformation, taking local elders through newly built public parks, green corridors, and rehabilitated riverfronts.
The guided tour forms part of a wider push to stimulate domestic tourism and deepen community engagement with the capital’s changing urban landscape following extensive corridor development initiatives.
“In the 2018 fiscal year [2025–26], our tourism performance exceeded initial targets,” said Amanuel Babu, team leader of tourism destination expansion at the Addis Ababa City Tourism Commission. “We saw remarkable growth in both domestic and international tourist numbers, as well as significantly higher overall revenue compared to the previous Ethiopian fiscal year. Our goal now is to build on this momentum by ensuring all residents—especially our seniors—get to experience and take pride in their city’s ongoing transformation.”
Participating elders praised the visible shift across the city, noting that the development projects have created accessible public parks, pedestrian walkways, and cleaner urban environments in areas that were previously blighted or neglected. Tour participants also called on local communities to protect the newly built infrastructure to ensure Addis Ababa remains green, climate-resilient, and livable.
Organisers highlighted that the overhauled pedestrian walkways and riverbank developments have both improved urban aesthetics and expanded the capital’s capacity to accommodate growing tourist numbers.
Looking ahead to the 2019 Ethiopian fiscal year [2026–27], the commission told AMECO, it will prioritize site accessibility and inclusivity. Planned upgrades include implementing universal design standards for visitors with disabilities and elderly residents, alongside enhanced directional signage and navigation aids across museums, historic landmarks, and municipal parks.
