IBEX HOTEL AND TOURISM COLLEGE

Department of Hotel Management

The role of Ethiopia’s cultural restaurants in

promoting Ethiopia’s culture to Tourists in the case of
Addis Ababa City

Done By;
Emnet Cheru
Esubalew Tadesse
Nahom Haile
Haregewoyin Mussie
Yordanos Mersha

Subbmitted to;
Bezawork Yimer(MA)

January, 2019
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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 Acknowledgments

First of all we would like to give my deepest gratitude to Ato. Bezawork Yimer who is the
introduction to research instructor for teaching us how to conduct the proposal. He also helps us
in the selection of the possible research topic.

We also have to thank Miss. Genet yimer who is the senior officer of certification and licensing
of hotels in Addis Ababa culture and tourism bureau who gave us valuable information;
suggestions to this paper come to fruitful.

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Table of content

List of titles pages

List of tables…………………………………………………………… 2
Acknowledgement……………………………………………………..2
Chapter one:- Introduction of the study
1.1. Background of the study………………………………………3
1.2. Statement of the problem…………………………………….3
1.3. Objectives of the study………………………………………4
1.3.1. General objectives of the study……………………………4
1.3.2. Specific objectives of the study……………………………..4
1.4. Significance of the study ………………………………………4
1.5. Research questions ……………………………………………4-5
1.6. Research methodology ……………………………………….5
1.6.1. Description of the study area…………………………….5
1.6.2. Target population ………………………………………5
1.6.3. Research design Sampling procedure………………….5
1.6.4. Data source and type ……………………………………6
1.6.5. Method of data collection ……………………………….6-7
1.6.6. Data processing and analysis ……………………………7
1.7. Scope of the study ……………..…………………………….7
1.8. Limitation of the study…………………………………….7
1.9. Organization of the study …………………………………7-8
Chapter two:-
2.1. Review Literature…………………………………8

Chapter three
3.1. Financial budget …………………………………………9-10
3.2. Activity plan ………………………………………………..10
3.3 conclusion and recommendations …………………………………10
Reference …………………………………………………………………10

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 CHAPTER ONE
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Tourism is the world's fastest growing industry. It is expanding at the rate of 5-6 percent
annually. World Tourism Organization observes that tourism has now become one of the world's
largest industries as a result of urbanization, industrial development, easier travel and rising
living standards. At present, almost half the world's population travels away from home for at
least a four day trip in its own country and a further 300 million people across international
borders.
Ethiopian tourism sector is growing at encouraging rate. Tourism has even become the third
foreign exchange earner after coffee and horticultural products. Though the country’s long lived
bad image by starvation and war internationally continues to cast its shadow on the sector. But
recent economic growth, tourist facilities and political acceptance of the country the tourist
arrivals is promising.

It is obvious that tourists need accommodation and food & beverage service. Ethiopia has a rich
and unexpected food culture more than just great meals, this is food that comes with a story. The
food is a source of national pride, and a daily reminder of this country’s history. The foods are
mainly grass-fed beef and organic vegetables.

1.2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Thousands of years ago, Middle East merchants traveled the red sea and come and looking for
foodstuffs to trade. Spices, wine, fruits and olive oil were the major ones. Today, we do much the
same. However, modern travelers tend to prefer restaurants and wineries in place of pirate-
infested trade routes.
Culture is an embodiment of a people‘s traditions and ways of life and is illustrated in the food,
rituals, dances, festivals, sculptures, building designs, religion, dressing and other practices
(UNESCO, 2001). According to Nasaa-art, culture is based on the mosaic of places, foods,
traditions, art, rituals and experiences of a people. (Nasaa-art, 2004; Wadawi, Bresler & Okech,
2008; 2009).
Within this framework, Ethiopia, being a multi ethnic nation with more than 80 different nation
nationalities holds a highly diverse mix of cultures. The interplay between culture and
development is both complex and dynamic. Among the tourists that come to visit the country’s
tourist destinations; 95% of them will stay one and more than one days in Addis Ababa. In
addition the city is the country’s industrial and business center where government and non-
government international and private organization abundantly found.
Cultural restaurants are used for promotion and marketing tools to influence tourists and
communicate destination image (Beerli and Martín, 2004). Ethiopia is striving to position and
brand its socio cultural and archaeological destination through its first class cultural restaurants.
However, the country needs to be clear with what image that the tourists is targeting to see and
hold of it as a tourist destination throughout in their entitlement or vacation time .

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1.3 . OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

1.3.1 General objective

The general objective this research is to assess the role of cultural restaurants in promoting
Ethiopia’s culture and its tourist destination to tourists.
1.3.2 Specific objectives
Specifically the study aims to attain the following objectives:
 To assess the effect of cultural restaurant on Ethiopian tourism.
 To determine the cultural components represented in the Ethiopian cultural restaurant.
 To know the tourists’ stay and their image of the country’s national foods and beverage.
 To have brand of cultural foods and drinks (Enjera, Teji, Kitfo) and many others.
 To assess the opportunities and threats of cultural restaurants.

1.4. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will have very important findings for hospitality sectors, particularly for culture and
Tourism, cultural restaurant owners and potential investors because it gives an insight picture on
relationship between cultural restaurants in promoting Ethiopian nation nationality culture,
costume, music and their dancing and also cultural foods to the rest of the world.

So that we put some of significant identification of the study as follows:

 The study will help as a base line for further studies related to impact of cultural
restaurants in promoting country’s culture to tourists.

 It creates the opportunity to solve problems of cultural restaurants in city.

 It also provides specific recommendations for the design and the items that should be sold
cultural restaurants.

 It may also indicate the exterior and interior design of cultural restaurants while they are
under construction.

1.5. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

In this study we will attempt to find answers for the following key questions.

 Do cultural restaurants that are found in Addis Ababa consider the components of typical
culture of Ethiopia in their day to day service for tourist?
 Do cultural restaurants play a role in promoting Ethiopian culture and its tourism resources?
 How they get customers and their mechanism of menu planning?

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 Do they sell the cultural food and beverage items of Ethiopia or some areas of cultural food
and beverage in their restaurants?
 Are their waiters and staffs having appropriate working conditions and get up-to-date
education and training?
 Do the tourists get the cultural restaurants comfortable, affordable in terms of price?
 What is the contribution of cultural restaurants to the country’s GDP?
1.6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This paper utilizes a case study approach highlighting relevant literature related to cultural
restaurants and its value in promoting the country’s culture and personal observation.
1.6.1. Description of the study area
The study area is selected purposively, because there are many cultural restaurants and the home
of different tourism stake holders in the country found in the city of Addis Ababa.
1.6.2. Target population
The universe/populations of the study are cultural restaurants that are found in Addis Ababa city
and tourists (local and international) who consume foods and beverage items, managers, tourist
guides, waiters/s, and expertise from Addis Ababa culture and tourism bureau.

1.6.3. Research design and Sampling procedure

In this research work, detailed factual information is collected which describes the existing
phenomena. Therefore, descriptive and qualitative research design is used being relied up on
primary as well as secondary data collected in line with the objectives of the study. Qualitative
part of the survey will be elaborated only in cause and effect analysis incomprehensive way.

In order to achieve the objectives the research we will apply multi stage and systematic
sampling technique. Among the 20 cultural restaurants we select 10 cultural restaurants which
are more than three star restaurants.

The first stage includes selection of cultural restaurants for the study accordingly; out of the
twenty cultural restaurants we select restaurants which have more tourist users like Yod absiniya,
Hiber Ethiopia, Capital, 2000 Habesha, Totot, Dessalech, Checheho, Addis Ababa, Dema,
Mastem cultural restaurants.

The second stage for selection of respondents, from total number of 10 resturants we will have
100 respondants. Here will use non probability sampling procedure.

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The other respondents, like officials will be 10 respondents selected from Addis Ababa
culture and tourism office purposively bases due to less number of availability. Totally,
there will be 110 number of respondents conducted in this research.

Name of the respondants No. of Respondents

Cultural restaurants(manager, waiter/s, chef) 50

Tourist 30

Tourist guides 10

Hotel and tourism scholars 5

A.A Culture and Tourism office expertise 5

Total 100

Table 1: Selection of sample

1.6.4. Data source and type

The source of data will be a combination of both primary and secondary. Primary data will be
collected from the respondents like tourists, hotel professionals, chefs, tourist guides, tourism
scholars, and culture and tourism government officers.
Semi-structured interview based on questionnaire will be used to collect information about
cultural restaurants. Questionnaire will be designed in such a way that information required for
fulfilling the objectives of the study.

The secondary data will be collected from statistical reports, hospitality journals, records,
research works related to the topic, guide books, newspaper and magazines, review of related
theoretical and empirical literature and other available sources of data.

1.6.5. Method of Data Collection

Combinations of both quantitative and qualitative techniques are will be employed in this
research. The qualitative method is observation of the service of cultural restaurants, Addis
Ababa culture and Tourism officials.

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The quantitative techniques include a structured interview and questionnaire containing a
combination of close ended and open ended to the selected respondents from tourists, cultural
restaurants and tour companies through the sampling procedures.

1.6.6. Data Processing and Analysis

To analyze the data collected in meaningful way data is subjected to processing first. Only after
putting data in a usable format analysis become possible. To make the description meaningful,
logical and well defined processing and analysis are made in order. In some instances
comparison is made and in other classification and ordering is needed.

Descriptive studies method will be adopted. The objective of descriptive research is ‘to portray
an accurate profile of persons, events, or situations (Dr. Shajahan S.) Moreover, simple statistic,
like percentage, mean, median, mode and standard deviation will be part of the study to analyze
quantitative data.

1.7. SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study is bounded with selected main cultural restaurants in Addis Ababa city, in
particular aspects of role of cultural restaurants in promoting Ethiopian’s culture to tourists. So
special consideration will be given to ten cultural restaurants in Addis Ababa city which have
more tourist flow like Yod Abyssinia, 2000 Habesha, Capital, Totot, Addis Ababa, Dimma,
Dessalech, and Mastem .

1.8. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The study will be conducted in Addis Ababa city by carrying out a survey of tourist visitors in a
specific period of time. The conclusion drawn from this limited study many not exactly indicate
the cases of whole country. Further this research is carried out for partial fulfillment of the study
within a limited time frame. The study area and research time might have been extended if
adequate budget and time were available.

1.9 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This study will be organized in five main chapters. Chapter one is an introductory part dealing
with the background information of the research, back ground of the organization, statement of
the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, scope of the
study and the research design and methodology employed to collect and analyze the data for the
study. Chapter two consists of the related literature on theories of culture and tourism. The third

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chapter will assess the methodologies used in the study and concluding remark of the study
results and the possible suggested recommendations.

CHAPTER TWO
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

According to Renko et al.,(2010) food, along with other phenomena such as religion, events,
festivals, and architecture are considered to be “gray zones” of cultural and heritage tourism.
It mostly serves as a catalyst in enhancing the tourists‘experience in certain places. However,
the importance of foodstuffs has been recognized by more and more researchers.
They focus on the role of food in culture and consider food as not only being a basic
necessity for tourist consumption but also an essential element of regional culture that adds
value to the image of a destination. Local cuisines represent a core manifestation of a
destination‘s intangible heritage, and through its consumption, tourists can gain a truly
authentic cultural experience (Okumus, Okumus, & McKercher, 2007; Renkoet al.,2010)

Below are some reasons why we need to conduct this research:

1. Nearly 100% of tourists dine out when traveling.
2. Dining is consistently one of the top 3 favorite tourist activities.
3. Tourists are interested in cultural music and traditional bride festivals.
4. Most tourists are highly likely to participate in outdoor recreational activities.
5. Interest in cultural restaurants spans to all age groups.
6. Cuisine is the only art form that speaks to all five senses.
7. Tourists are who consumes most cultural foods are explorers.
8. Cultral foods can be available all year round.
9. Local cuisine is the number one motivating factor in choosing a destination.
10. Local cuisines are the main source of hard currency and huge employment opportunities.
CHAPTER THREE

3.1 . FINANCIAL BUDGET

No. Items Quantity Unit Price Total Price

Birr cent Birr Cent

1 Stationery costs

Duplicating paper 6 reams 150 00 900 00

Note books 5 20 00 100 00

Pens 15 3 00 45 00

Photo copy 2000 00 0.3 600 00

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 Flash disc 1 300 00 300 00

CD-RW 20 5 00 100 00

Stencils 10 4 00 40 00

Typing paper 2 150 00 300 00

2 Per Diem 1500 00

3 Recording

Tape recorder 1 550 00 550 00

Dray cell batteries 6 5 00 30 00

4 Relevant training

SPSS and STATA 2 1000 00 2000 00

4 Transportation

A.A. 40 trips 20 00 800 00

5 Secretarial services
writing questionnaire 800 0.3 00 240 00
(200 x 4)

proposal and thesis 1050 1 00 1050 00

(150x7)
Binding 7 150 00 1050 00

Total 9,105 00

3.2. ACTIVITY PLAN

S. Description of work plan Duration Remark

No
1 Proposal submission and defense Up to Jan 30, 2019 E.C.
2 Questionnaire development Feb. 1-15, 2019
3 Questionnaire distribution Feb. 20-30, 2019
4 Conducting data collection March 1-15, 2019
5 Data coding, entry and cleaning March 15-30, 2019
6 Data analysis and write-up March 1- 15, 2019
7 Completion of first draft March 16- 2o, 2019
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 8 Submission of final thesis March 21, 2019
9 Thesis defense

3.3. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Cultural restaurants found in Addis Ababa offer extravaganza with delicious varieties of foods,
beverages and nation nationalities traditional dance troupes representing mosaics of cultural,
linguistic and historical assets of nation, nationalities of Ethiopia. There are also many other
specialized restaurants in the city including Chinese, Italian, French, Indian, American, Arabic
and Greek.
Every tourist who stayed in Addis Ababa became increasingly intrigued with the cuisine which is
served in cultural restaurants. There are no appetizers or desserts in Ethiopia. Chefs do not craft
menus to whet the appetite. Food has a primal role: to be filling, nutritious and packed with as
much flavor as possible, whether it’s spicy chickpea hummus with caramelized onions, or grilled
chicken dripping with a sweet yogurt sauce. In the major cultural restaurants frequently visited
spots for cultural dishes, drinks and dances.
REFERENCES
1. Beerli and Martins (2004): Factors influencing destination image. Annals of tourism
Research, 31(3), 651-681
2. Wandawi; Brester; Okech (2008;2009): Marketing the competitive destination of the
future. Tourism Management, 21, 97–116.
3. Maria Jose Andrade Suarez (2011): The impact of secondary information sources on the
formation of the tourist image: The case of rural tourism in Galicia. European Journal Of
Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation, 1(1),72-94
4. Marrianne Nebbe (2011): the African growth index. African Growth Report. 7-59
5. N. Blažević, A. Stojić (2006): Pragmalinguistic Elements in Tourist Destination Image...
Tourism and Hospitality Management, 12(1), 57-66,
6. UNWTO World Tourism Barometer (2011). Vol. 10(1)
7. Renko, S Renko, N & Polonijo, T 2010,̳Understanding the role of food in rural
tourism development in a recovering economy‘,Journal of Food Products Marketing,
vol. 16, no. 3,pp. 309–324.Sims, R 2009
8. UNESCO 2001 UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. Available
from:http://www.portal.unesco.org/ev.php.htm(29 March 2014). Veeck, G Che, D &
Veeck, J
9. A Guide to tourist attraction in Addis Ababa and its environs (2017).

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