{"id":4444,"date":"2026-08-14T10:16:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:16:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amn.gov.et\/en\/?p=4444"},"modified":"2026-08-14T10:17:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:17:01","slug":"ethiopian-airlines-direct-moscow-flights-strengthen-ethiopias-appeal-to-russian-tourists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amn.gov.et\/en\/ethiopian-airlines-direct-moscow-flights-strengthen-ethiopias-appeal-to-russian-tourists\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopian Airlines\u2019 Direct Moscow Flights Strengthen Ethiopia\u2019s Appeal to Russian Tourists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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AMN Plus-August 14, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the leadership of His Excellency Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), tourism has become one of Ethiopia\u2019s key economic pillars. The country is transforming its tourism sector through strategic reforms, infrastructure expansion, and sustainable development initiatives, positioning tourism as an important driver of economic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking exclusively to Addis Media Network\u2019s Diplomatic Corner, Russian Ambassador to Ethiopia Evgeny Terekhin said tourism cooperation between Ethiopia and Russia is currently experiencing a period of active development and growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ambassador highlighted Ethiopia\u2019s strong logistical advantage, noting that Ethiopian Airlines operates six regular direct flights each week between Addis Ababa and Moscow. This connectivity, he said, makes Ethiopia not only an attractive destination for Russian tourists but also an important transit hub for Russian travellers heading to other parts of Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ethiopia is also actively promoting its diverse tourism potential at major tourism exhibitions in Russia, including the Travel Forum and the Otdykh Exhibition, which are held annually. According to Ambassador Terekhin, Russian travellers are being offered a wide range of tourism experiences in Ethiopia, from traditional coffee ceremonies and cultural tours to visits to the country\u2019s unique religious and historical sites, including the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. \u201cWe are observing significant interest in these destinations,\u201d the ambassador said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also identified spiritual tourism as one of the most promising areas of cooperation between the two countries. Ethiopia and Russia share a historic connection through their Orthodox Christian traditions, and the ambassador noted that many Russian Orthodox believers are interested in visiting Ethiopia\u2019s sacred Christian sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur Orthodox churches are sisterly churches, and many of our believers would like to visit sacred Christian places in Ethiopia. The same, I hope, refers to Ethiopian Christians,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ambassador Terekhin further pointed to Ethiopia\u2019s introduction of free transit visas as an important step in attracting more Russian travelers. The policy, he said, creates additional opportunities for visitors to explore Addis Ababa and its surrounding attractions during transit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He emphasized that tourism cooperation should not be a one-way relationship, but rather a two-way exchange that benefits both countries. \u201cI believe that tourist flows must not be a one-way road; it must be a two-way road,\u201d the ambassador said, noting that while the number of Russian tourists travelling to Ethiopia is growing, there is also significant potential to increase tourism from Ethiopia to Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Birhanu Workneh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AMN Plus-August 14, 2026 Under the leadership of His Excellency Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), tourism has become one of Ethiopia\u2019s key economic pillars. The country is transforming its tourism sector through strategic reforms, infrastructure expansion, and sustainable development initiatives, positioning tourism as an important driver of economic growth. Speaking exclusively to Addis Media Network\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ethiopia","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amn.gov.et\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amn.gov.et\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amn.gov.et\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amn.gov.et\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amn.gov.et\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4444"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.amn.gov.et\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4448,"href":"https:\/\/www.amn.gov.et\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4444\/revisions\/4448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amn.gov.et\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amn.gov.et\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amn.gov.et\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}