A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Tourism Management in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the award Degree of Master of Arts in Tourism and Heritage Management

Abstract

Tourism is a mixture of activities, service and industries that deliver the travel experience. The purpose of this research was to identify potentials and challenges of tourism in Tegedie woreda. A descriptive survey research design was used. To attain the objectives of the study 6 kebeles tourism resourceswere selected using purposive sampling. 134 respondents in total selected from the six kebeles. The data collection instruments were interview, questionnaire, FGD and observation. To achieve the aim of the study both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis were used. The quantitative data werecomputed using frequency, percentage, mean and average meanand SPSS version 20 was employed. Based on that the study revealed that the woreda is rich both tangible and intangible / manmade and natural\ such as monasteries, battle fields wedding and funeral ceremonies, land feature, wild and endemic animals, cave, vegetation and climatic condition. In line with challenges the study revealed that infrastructure (health service, transport and sanitation), accommodation (lodge,hotel), awareness (concept of preservation and conservation), man-made and natural disaster (rubbers killing of wild animals, wild fire, flood, land slide respectively) are found to be the major challenges. Regarding the current situation of tourism, the study disclosed that no foreign tourist arrival registered in the area except monasteries and caves are visited by domestic tourists during specific holidays which remark that tourism in the area is profoundly poor. It recommended that the woreda and other stakeholders should provide infrastructure in and around the attraction sites, create awareness, should design destination management and conservation plan for tourismpotential attraction sites.