How to Be an Ethical Traveller in Ethiopia

Most of the time, being an ethical traveller comes down to one main concept: 

PATIENCE

Things work slowly in Ethiopia. You're not on a Western schedule. Resources are difficult to come by. Be patient, be understanding. Don't be demanding. Trust the locals, and if you're unsure about them, ask them. 

COMMUNICATION

There are very few foreigners travelling to Ethiopia at the moment, especially given the recency of the Tigray War (November 2020-2022) and the possibility of conflict breaking out again. Any money you spend into the local economy has a huge impact, especially with such a shortage of travellers in the tourism industry. For safety, you'll want to have a guide for any trip outside of Addis Ababa, but if you're unhappy with something in your trip, talk with your guide instead of leaving them negative reviews or preventing them from getting future clients. 

FOOD

You're unlikely to find "western-styled" food outside of large resorts and hotel chains, and especially in some parts of the country, a restaurant may be an outdoor stick hut with goats running around. Look around at what the locals are eating. Eat with the locals. Accept that you may not have access to the same food you get back at home. And embrace the experience, try new cuisine, and integrate with the local community. Foreigners who complain about not having the quality of food they want back home tend to come across as aggressive, rude, and entitled. You're in another country, so just embrace the difference. Plus, Ethiopian food is honestly my favourite cuisine in the world. Try the injera and shiro, eat the goat tibs, and fall in love with the Sen'q beer and incredible coffee. Eat like a local, and you'll enhance your trip significantly. 

CULTURE

As you're travelling to different parts of Ethiopia, you may see elements of culture that are confronting to you. Some traditional practices are especially confronting - such as the Mursi women's lip plates or the whipping of Banna women when their sons come of age. This is not your place to change the culture. You can talk with your guide about it, and about any confronting emotions you have, but we caution you against trying to stop someone from engaging in a cultural practice. Instead, try to understand it. Or ask your guide how this is changing as access to education increases. 

For example, in the Mursi Tribe, the younger generation are choosing not to continue this tradition, and the practice is slowly dying out. This is something for the tribes and communities to manage within themselves, and it is not the place of a tourist to intervene. If you want to change a culture, you have a duty to immerse yourself in it fully and understand it in its entirety before you tell the community how they should live their lives. There are activist and educational groups that work in the Omo Valley and are introducing greater rights for women and children, but any tourist that tries to intervene in centuries of culture is going to do more harm than good. 

Similarly, in the Banna village, the women are whipped with sticks to draw blood and scar when the boys in their family come of age. They say that should that boy die prematurely, they will carry the scars of their love for him on their back. Whilst initially confronting, it is akin to getting a tattoo of someone you love - temporary pain for a permanent reminder. There is a lot more to this practice, but again it is not the role of foreigners to try to intervene in culture. Culture manifests in different ways, and there is so much that you can learn from these villages and communities, so I ask that you travel with a mind for learning, rather than for intervening. 

PHOTOGRAPHY

This is pretty straightfoward, but always ask before you take a photo. You don't need language to do this, simply hold up your phone/camera/GoPro and gesture to the person. They will understand. If they nod, say thank you in their language (amesäggənalähu in Amharic, phonetically am-ah-ss-gan-ah-lu), and give them some cash. In May 2025, I gave 100birr to each person I took a photo of, and it was well received. If they shake their head or indicate no, still thank them, and continue on. 

NEVER take a photograph of someone without their consent. If you're taking videos of gathering places - such as markets, you can usually take a panning video without focusing on any individuals. However, if someone is unhappy with being in your video, they will come and let you know. In this case, show them as you delete the video and apologise to them. The same thing goes in your country - if you saw someone videoing you without your consent, you may be ok with it, or you may want them to delete it. Just behave as you would want people to behave towards you and always act with empathy and understanding. 

CULTURAL IMMERSION

There are many ways to travel, but I am firm in my belief that there are good ways, and harmful ways. 

It's deeply upsetting when I see foreigners coming in, taking videos of the locals, and treating the locals like animals in a zoo. 

Even when there's a language barrier, you can still engage. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Dance with the locals. Does a local like your shoes? Swap shoes with them! Are they interested in your hair? Let them play with it, and play with theirs too! Is someone sitting and playing a drum? Come up to them and start clapping, or clicking, or whistling. Teach the locals things, and be open to learning. We are all human beings, and we are all curious. Invite that curiosity and reciprocate it. No one likes being oggled at like an animal in a zoo, but everyone appreciates community. You can immerse yourself with community in any country, and Ethiopia is no exception. 

We didn't meet many other foreigners at all in Ethiopia, but of the handful we did meet, there was one that made me quite sad. Whilst witnessing a ceremony in the Omo Valley, there was one foreigner with his phone out, narrating the experience through his own view. He boasted his YouTube channel, and filmed the locals and narrated what he thought they were doing (often incorrectly), yet didn't meaningfully try to talk to any of them, even with his own translator there. The locals were side-eyeing him, ignoring him, avoiding his camera, and yet he was oblivious. This is the kind of travel influencer who posts a clickbait titled "I survived a wild village" and transforms a beautiful culture into a self-serving tale of his encounter with savages. It's disgusting, and it's heartbreaking to see so many travel influencers gain popularity by exploiting a misunderstanding of cultures and practices that date back for centuries. Please don't be like these guys! Your travel can be so much more, and have such a greater impact on your local communities.