Sustainable tourism development and food security in Ethiopia: Policy-making and planning

Abstract

The tourism-food security relationship is one of the most critical yet overlooked areas of sustainable tourism development policy, particularly for developing countries. With a view to casting light on the tourism-food security relationship, this paper presents an analysis of Ethiopia’s tourism development, with a focus on tourism policies and strategies that are linked to food security. The paper reveals that while eradicating pervasive food insecurity is a priority development concern of Ethiopia, existing tourism policy does not directly reference food security concerns. Rather, employment, income and poverty reduction are the foci of tourism policy and can be considered as, at best, implicit policy pathways to food security. The paper argues that for more effective food security, the tourism sector needs to be guided by policy prescription and instruments that mainstream food security concerns into practice.