By Onyekachi Victoria Philip
Tourism will take on a bigger role as guests will gather in Ethiopia this September for the East-West Africa Amalgamation through Tourism, Trade and Creative Arts.
The programme, scheduled to hold from September 15th to 23rd, 2026, in Addis Ababa and Wolaita Soddo, is placing tourism at the centre of a wider conversation about how Africans can connect, collaborate and discover opportunities across the continent.
For many Africans, travelling within the continent often means heading to familiar destinations. But Africa is home to thousands of tourism experiences, cultures, landscapes and historical sites that remain largely unexplored by Africans themselves.
The upcoming East-West Africa Amalgamation is seeking to change that conversation by bringing guests directly into the tourism and cultural experiences of Ethiopia while creating room to explore how tourism can connect the continent.
In Addis Ababa, guests are expected to experience museums, historical sites, cultural centres and tourism attractions, offering them a closer look at Ethiopia’s heritage and identity.
The programme will then move to Wolaita Soddo, opening another chapter of the experience through cultural tours, sightseeing and the Gifata celebration.
Tourism, however, is not being presented merely as entertainment but being viewed as a meeting point for investment, culture and business.
A visitor who experiences a destination can also discover investment opportunities within its hospitality sector.
A cultural festival can create opportunities for creative professionals. A tourism destination can open conversations around infrastructure, accommodation, transportation and local enterprise.
That is where the East-West Africa Amalgamation takes a different approach.The idea is not simply to bring African delegates to Ethiopia and show them around. It is to use the journey itself as part of the conversation about what Africa can offer Africans and the rest of the world.
The tourism programme also reflects the broader vision behind Motherland Beckons and IPADA Initiatives, which have continued to promote African tourism as a vehicle for cultural reconnection, economic opportunities and diaspora engagement.
By combining business meetings with cultural experiences and tourism activities, the September programme creates an opportunity for participants to see another African country beyond statistics, headlines and online images.
They get to experience its people.
Its culture.
Its history.
Its environment.
And potentially, its opportunities.
As East and West Africa continue to search for stronger ways to work together, tourism could become one of the simplest starting points.Before people invest in a place, they often need to understand it.
The East-West Africa Amalgamation through Tourism, Trade and Creative Arts will hold from September 15th -23rd,2026, across Addis Ababa and Wolaita Soddo, Ethiopia.
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