[llamaorama]

Those things you mention would be appropriate investments if Addis was trying to move its economy towards a certain kind of tourism AND it had money to burn.

Ethiopia had one of the world's lowest GDP per capita until extremely recently and is still extraordinarily poor. I think what makes it fascinating now is the rapid pace of infrastructure development and urban planning that's occurred in its cities versus other places in Africa and the "third world". Like in only a few years they've built the light rail, a urban freeway system and national long distance highways, a double track main line railroad out to Dijbouti with a modern intermodal/container freight terminal on each end, etc. As well as hydroelectric dams, a new power grid, etc. And a lot of the growth in Addis has been in planned apartment districts with functioning sewer and water and electricity and schools and buses, etc, rather than just an endless carpet of slums like you'd find flanking Caracas or Manila or something.

But then stuff like theme parks and international destinations, that's really what countries with massive amounts of oil money they can't even figure out how to spend do. Ethiopia isn't really that kind of place IMO.