Exploring Abba Gerima Monastery for Monastery Tourism Development, Adwa, Ethiopia

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Date

2019-06

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Addis Ababa University

Abstract

The subject of monastery’s tourism resources and their development towards tourism is an issue which needs a great focus from all areas of tourism development in Ethiopia. Because most of the monasteries are located in remote rural areas, they are not easily accessible for tourists and other practitioners. Through time unless some sort of action is taken monasteries may lose everything they have today. This study is mainly motivated by these and other factors observed in about 1500 monasteries in Ethiopia. The study on the case of Abba Gerima Monastery has three objectives: to describe the tourism resources, to explore tourism experience, and to propose monastery tourism development. The study was conducted through a qualitative research method with descriptive and exploratory study designs. The findings for the first objective, i.e., describing tourism resources in Abba Gerima Monastery has resulted in a surprising wealth of resources. Abba Gerima Monastery is home of diverse tangible and intangible cultural and historical tourism resources. Additionally, the monastery is also rich for its natural resources. The findings to the second objective which investigates tourism experience of the monastery were the focus area. The finding shows that compared to the tourism resources, the monastery’s tourism experience is in its infant stage, even the existing tourism facilities are not exploited for the current tourism activities of the monastery. Finally, to meet the third objective of the research, I have argued that monasteries should be promoted and developed under the new model called “monastery tourism”, as I propose it. Monastery tourism should not be subsumed in to religious tourism, because monastery tourism resources do not have regard only to religion or faith motivated tourists as is the aim in the religious tourism. Monasteries are rather the center for history, society’s lifelong living system, are symbols for coexistence and tolerance, and center for handcraft. Monastery tourism has a wide range of products from history to religion to nature, not just religious or faith products as in religious tourism. I recommend that concerned bodies, which are government at each level, the community, and the monastery peoples should give attention to Monastery Tourism develop to tap a wide range of tourism potential in monasteries in Ethiopia.

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Keywords

monasteries, monastery tourism resources, monastery tourism development

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