Business Reporter
ACCORDING to economic analysts at Simonis Storm Securities, the outlook remains positive on tourist inflows in Namibia following the country’s participation in one of the world’s largest tourism trade fairs.
Namibia currently has a stand at the ITB Berlin tourism trade fair (considered the world’s largest tourism trade fair), with 19 exhibitors from Namibia who have joined the Namibian Tourism Board in showcasing what Namibia has to offer to tourists.
Exhibitors include the Gondwana Collection, Fly Namibia, the O&L Group, N/a’ankuse Collection Wilderness and Sense of Africa.
“In our Economic Outlook 2023 report, we indicated that foreign tourist operators indicate that there is high demand for travel to Namibia and that Namibian travel packages are gaining traction,” Theo Klein, an economic analyst from Simonis Storm Securities, said.
He added that, with the completion of the American Embassy in Windhoek on the horizon, Simonis Storm anticipates a rise in international visitor arrivals, which presents an opportunity for the country’s tourism sector to capitalize on the ensuing tourist peak season.
“We understand that about 400 permanent workers are to be recruited with a 70/30 split between Namibian and American workers, according to an expert from government,” Klein said.
Commenting on the statistics, Klein said that 2023 is off to a better start than 2021 and 2022 in terms of occupancy rates at nationwide hospitality establishments.
“While on a monthly basis, occupancy rates continue on a downward trend since reaching a high of 61.3% in August 2022. Occupancy rates averaged 31.7% in February 2023, compared to 37.1% in January 2023 and 22.5% in February 2022, according to the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) data. The data continues to follow its longer-term seasonal trend, where occupancy rates typically dip every January and remain below average until Namibia’s peak tourist season commences (May to September). Indeed, ‘February and March usually are the most quiet months for tourism in Namibia’, according to HAN CEO Gitta Paetzold,” Klein summarized.
He added that Namibian travellers accounted for 55% of all guests at hospitality establishments nationwide in September 2022, whereas only 31% of all guests were Namibian in February 2023.
Klein stated that this significant decrease can be indicative of the general rise in living and travelling costs, leading to more households delaying or cancelling planned trips throughout the country.
Klein summarized that most visitors came from Namibia’s main tourist source markets, with 37.4% of visitors coming from Germany, South Africa (5.4%), Benelux (4.5%) and France (3.5%). He added that it is interesting to note that the number of guests coming from the United States (US) and Canada has doubled from numbers recorded in February 2022.
