Tourism value chain and actors integration: evidence from Ethiopia

The study investigated the challenges of integrations of tourism value-chain actors in Ethiopia. To this end, data was generated from 42 purposively selected professions. This included government tourism officers, university lecturers, travel agents, car rental service managers, tour operators, hotel managers, Ethiopian Airlines officers, tourism association members, and tour guides. Thematic qualitative analysis techniques were used to analyse the data gathered from in-depth interviews. Research findings indicate that Ethiopia has poorly implemented the integration of actors in the tourism value chain, neglecting local communities, tourism training institutes, and tourism associations. Stakeholders in the tourism value chain must swiftly address critical areas like marketing, product creation, destination planning, infrastructure, and human resource development. The study proposes a comprehensive framework that can integrate the actors in the Ethiopian context.