Abstract

Ethiopia has very distinct natural, cultural and historic products that could attract visitors from all over the world. Meqdela Amba, a community in Ethiopia, is endowed with a unique historical heritage and outstanding biophysical features. The aim of this study was to identify the major barrier of the Meqdela Amba community based ecotourism development in Tenta district. The study used descriptive research design and also both probability and non-probability sampling methods. The data sources used both primary and secondary data, and the research approaches used mixed research method both qualitative and quantitative research. These were generated by employing qualitative (using key informant interview, focus group discussions and field observation) and quantitative (mainly using household survey questionnaires) methods. Checklists were the main data gathering tools with the total target population being 370. A sample of 193 questionnaires was distributed to local communities and 185 were returned. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, to interpret the result frequency and percentage. The barriers identified to Meqdela Amba community based ecotourism site were: lack of marketing and promotion activity, low level of knowledge and attitudes of local community towards community based ecotourism, lack of cooperation among stakeholders, lack of professional guides, lack of major infrastructure and facilities such as accommodation, electricity, and clean water supply. Attention should be given to reducing the major barriers from Meqdela Amba community based ecotourism site.

Key words: Barriers, community based ecotourism, Meqdela Amba, Ethiopia.