Hotel and Restaurant at the Blue Nile Falls

Domestic and foreign tourists visit the Blue Nile Falls almost every day throughout the year. Of course, there are more tourists during the rainy season when the volume of water at the fall reaches its highest point. At any rate, thousands of tourists visit the fall every year. But there are no facilities at the site where tourists gather to watch/see the fall. Usually most tourists arrive at the fall around 10-12 a.m in the morning when it is hot at the site. While watching the cascading of the water in the fall, they need drinks, shelter from the hot sun and sometime snack. But unfortunately there are no facilities to provide these services.

If there were hotels and restaurants, many tourists could have made overnight stay near the fall. They would have preferred to watch the fall at sunset or sunrise. They could have wanted to hear the sound of the Falls during the night. They could have experienced what it feels during the night in rural Ethiopia where there are no noises of urban life. In short, they could have preferred to stay near the fall watching its huge water flow for sometime say a night, a day or more. But there is nothing there to make them stay. No hotel, no restaurant, not even a shade, not even a food-stand. Not even an umbrella in other places, in other countries, all sorts of tricks are made to make tourists stay longer and spend more. But not in Amhara land at the Blue Nile Falls one of the most spectacular sceneries in the world. At the Falls, tourists stay only for about 15-30 minutes and then they leave. They leave soon because there is nothing to make them stay longer even though they are attracted by the natural beauty of the fall. The sooner they leave the less they spend.

2. Market Potential: The numbers of domestic and foreign tourists who visit the Blue Nile Falls vary depending on the season of the year. During the rainy season, when the volume of water flow at the fall is at its peak, there are more tourists visiting the falls. In the dry season the water volume declines and so does the number of tourists. But the number of tourists who had visited the fall during the last three to four years indicates that there is sufficient demand for the services of a small hotel and restaurant. Like many other tourist sites, the market for this hotel and restaurant could be seasonal, but it can be profitable by working during the “tourist season”. The hotel and the restaurant do not have to be very sophisticated and expensively built. All they need is to be extremely clean and comfortable with reasonable prices and efficient services. The food must be simple but carefully and cleanly prepared and cooked. These are what “ferenjis” want in 3^rd world countries.

3. Estimated Investment:-

· Hotel and restaurant = Birr 500,000

· Vehicles……..…… = Birr 300,000

· Working capital …... = Birr 100,000

Total ……..… = Birr 900,000

4. Benefits:- More benefits from tourism, more tourists, longer stays by tourists in the region, more economic activities in the locality

5. Location :- Blue Nile Falls