Namibia remains one of the world’s most attractive and top tourist destinations, with latest statistics showing that the country’s tourism sector has made remarkable recovery from post-Covid figures of about 461,027 in 2022 to over 1.2 million visitors between last year and now.
The figures are contained in the latest Tourism Statistical Report, which was launched by the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Indileni Daniel yesterday.
The latest figure represents an improved 45% increase compared to 2023, when Namibia received about 863,872 tourists from various parts of the world. The report also indicates a commendable recovery rate of 75% by the sector, especially when juxtaposed against meagre statistics recorded during the Covid pandemic period.
The minister commended the sector and its various key players for the resilience and innovative ways of conducting business to ensure Namibia remains a top destination for tourists. She also explained that the aim of the report is to guide the spatial development and improvement of tourism by positioning the country as a more competitive destination.
“I must urge the entire sector, including the Namibia Tourism Board, to remain resolute in your collective efforts to ensure that Namibia maintains its status as a premier destination for visitors. The industry must continue to leverage digital and online marketing and make full use of the travel season to address seasonality challenges,” she stated.
Daniel reminded and underscored the growing importance of promoting the domestic tourism market and many other new tourists’ sites to ensure businesses are stable and have year-round streams of income.
“I must also add that the overall success of our tourism sector is not only measured through the number of arrivals, but more importantly through proper coordination, working together as an industry and through our collective efforts to sustain best world-class tourism practices. The ministry remains active and ready to assistance the local industry in meeting those best practices through policy interventions and support,” added Daniel.
Tourism is the fastest growing economic sector in Namibia and employs over 100 000 Namibians, especially those from rural areas and those in the country’s middle class, which has led to a much-needed growth in this sector, including job opportunities, human resource development as well as investment in infrastructure.
Namibia’s tourism sector remains one of the most competitive sectors in the world and since 2014, the number of foreign arrivals has been continuously growing.
Figures show that one of the highest arrivals was in 2019 when almost 1,7 million tourists visited the country, with the largest arrivals and top 10 tourist markets being Angola, South Africa, Zambia, Germany, Zimbabwe, Botswana, France, United Kingdom, USA and China.
In 2020, Namibia was awarded and ranked 13th out of 30 of the world’s top 30 emerging travel destinations by TravelLemming.com. During the awards, the Etosha National Park, Fish River Canyon, Sossusvlei and the Namib-Naukluft National Park were selected as Namibia’s top attractions.
– ohembapu@nep.com.na