By Berio Mbala WINDHOEK Due to unparalleled growth of the hospitality sector, Namibia has the potential to become one of Africa’s leading travel and tourism economies over the next decade – an economic boost that would compliment mining, agriculture and fishing. Tourism is emerging as a real opportunity for job-creation, social cohesion and economic growth in the country. Director of Tourism in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Albert Mieze, says travel and tourism encompasses transport, accommodation, catering, recreation and services for visitors, and this encourages the government to develop the country’s infrastructure to attract tourists. He says that because of the improvement in the infrastructure network in the country, the number of tourists visiting Namibia has grown from a mere 2ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 000 to 800ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 000 visitors each year. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) report, Namibia’s existing infrastructure is a great asset to its travel and tourism economy. “Nevertheless, certain decisions need to be taken, both to extend the basic infrastructure, such as airports, roads, communications, water and electricity supply, and also to ensure that infrastructure will be sufficient in the future to encourage potential investment and support the growth of travel and tourism,” he said. There is potential to improve Namibia’s road and rail facilities, port facilities for cruise ships, intercity bus/coach services and train travel that will benefit not only travel and tourism but the country’s population as a whole, said the official. Mieze also feels Namibia does not need a large number of visitors because its environment cannot accommodate large numbers owing to its dry conditions. The country can only accommodates small numbers of visitors whose spending helps to improve the country’s economy. “Competition of tourists in SADC or around the world is growing,” he observed, adding that Namibia keeps on encouraging tourists to come back as it continuously builds facilities to international standards while maintaining political stability and reducing crime. “Also, experience has shown that demand for any tourist destination grows sharply if marketing and promotions are well funded and effective in the country, but international awareness of Namibia and its tourism product is relatively low, particularly compared with countries such as Kenya, South Africa and Zambia”, the WTTC report states. Mieze says tourism is a major exporter, with inbound visitors injecting foreign exchange directly into the economy and also the contribution to the human resource intensive, meaning creating jobs across the full employment spectrum. He states that international tourism influx to the country reveals that German-speaking visitors and those from Austria and Switzerland made up the majority at 10 percent of all tourists because of colonial history and links. These people also keep on coming back because of the country’s unique landscape, but one of Namibia’s main attractions for tourism is that it is easy to explore independently. The openness of the country, sandy beaches, spectacular desert scenery and the world-renowned Etosha Pan, mostly attract tourists, he said. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism is struggling hard to spread tourists’ attraction in the country as a whole instead of a few places in the country to which tourists are being attracted, he says. In so doing, the WTTC report indicates that tourism has recently been identified in both Vision 2030 and the National Development Plan 3 as a priority sector by the Namibian Government. Vision 2030 calls for every Namibian to have a living standard equal to those in the First World by 2030. “Through that, the WTTC recommends that government should put more effort into widening understanding at the top levels of government about the dynamism of travel and tourism and its impact on the economy, and also to launch the redefining of tourism in Namibia, so that the population can understand what the industry really means, and who really benefits,” says the report.