Ground has been broken on the Alemye International Hotel in Debre Werq, Ethiopia. The 12-storey hotel is set to have 100 rooms, a swimming pool, conference centres, restaurant, café, bar, gym and a business centre.
The hotel is owned by WA Resorts which runs four resorts and hotels in the towns of Sululta and Debre Marqos.
Once built, the hotel is expected to create around 90 jobs for the town’s small population.
According to Antehun Asrate, Head of Debre Werq’s Cultural and Tourism Bureau, the hotel will be the largest in the town which, until now, has three-star and small-scale hotels.
Location of Debre Werq.
Worqu Aytenew, Founder and Managing Director of WA Resorts says development is too often concentrated in bigger cities. He adds that Debre Werq “is a stopping point for long-distance travellers and tourists”.
Gezahegn Abate, Director of Public and International Relations at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism agrees. “Small towns, which are known to be tourist destination, do not have standard hotels. Other businesses should follow this lead,” he says.
