Chinese visitors are swarming to Ethiopia in large numbers as the country's economy flourishes. Last year, the Horn of Africa nation received 70,000 Chinese tourists, according to official statistics. Chinese investments in Ethiopia in recent years have further contributed to the high numbers of Chinese visitors. These investments amount to more than $4 billion, ranging from roads to hotels and Chinese-owned and operated medical facilities.

"Ethiopia is growing economically and so is the tourism sector. Out of the 1.8 million Chinese tourists who visit Africa each year, 70,000 come here to Ethiopia. We have many Chinese-built hotels here but also, the Chinese want to know more about our culture. There are many similarities in history and cultural practices between both countries," Mengitsu Testafaye, a tourism consultant in Ethiopia, told ChinAfrica.

Apart from the cultural perspective, Testafaye said Chinese want to see historical sites in the country and major construction projects such as the newly built African Union (AU) Headquarters in Addis Ababa.

"The new AU Headquarters was funded and built by the Chinese. The Ethiopian people are extremely grateful to China. There are also lots of wildlife and nature trails. Chinese-owned medical facilities are also very common here. Many Chinese restaurants and pubs can be found and there is a rapidly growing Chinatown in Addis," said Testafaye.

"We as a country are very close to China since 1970 when diplomatic relations first began. But in recent years, the results have been more significant, as Chinese investments have increased and a growing number of Chinese have received Ethiopian citizenship," he said, adding that intermarriage between Chinese and Ethiopians is a common occurrence.

Ethiopia, Africa's eighth largest economy, with a GDP of more than $86 billion, is expected to be the largest Chinese tourism destination by 2018, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Also, the UN agency adds that the volume of trade between both countries currently stands at $1.5 billion. The figure is expected to double within three years.

Bilateral agreements ensure that there are often tourism conferences in China, funded by the Ethiopian Government, promoting local tourism and vice versa, said Testafaye, who has attended many of the conferences himself.

Most of the 1.8 million Chinese tourists who visited Africa last year were destined for Southern Africa, but the figures are expected to reduce in the next few years. The preferences will most likely go to regions in Eastern Africa, according to the United Nations Development Program.

Surafel Hailu, a tour operator in Ethiopia, said that more Chinese tourists own and operate hotels, restaurants, pubs and medical facilities in the country. The facilities offer Chinese cuisine and Chinese medicine.

"The Chinese have invested heavily in [Ethiopian] real estate. Many market their culture here in Ethiopia and also find a way to get their fellow citizens back in China to come to Ethiopia. It's a good thing as I also make money because of that," said Hailu.

"I'm in love with Ethiopia and I don't intend to return to China. I own a Chinese restaurant and I have lots of customers. They are a mixture of nationalities, but mostly Chinese. I have been here for almost six years," Guo Chongli, a hotelier in Addis Ababa, told ChinAfrica.

After years of political stability in Ethiopia, Chinese investments will further increase, according to economists based in the country.

"The Chinese are expecting more contracts to build roads and world-class architecture. We predict investments will reach more than $12 billion by 2018, eventually increasing the number of Chinese tourists. No country in the region can afford to ignore Ethiopia, [and if they do] they do so at their own peril," said Gabriella Mumia, a tour operator in Ethiopia.

(Reporting from Addis Ababa)