Namibia’s tourism industry could be negatively affected by the listing of the country as a “high-risk” destination by America’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC placed Namibia and three other countries at a Level 3 travel risk, down from Level 2, or “moderate” risk.
To be considered a Level 3 or high-risk destination, countries must have more than 100 new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past 28 days.
The Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) CEO Gitta Paetzold told The Brief that the decision by the CDC to add Namibia to the list was so unnecessary and unfair, given that the country’s Covid-19 numbers are “still very low and contained, compared to where the US and the EU were in their winter months.”
“And the past has shown that restricting travel did not reduce the spread of the virus. What it does is make companies hesitant to sell travel due to insurances not covering travel to high-risk areas, so more financially focused than addressing the issue of the pandemic,” the HAN CEO said.
Simonis storm Economist, Theo Klein the CDC decision could negatively impact the economic recovery anticipated for the tourism sector.
“With Namibia being placed on the high-risk list, various airlines could potentially decide to restrict flights to Namibia. In addition, tourists who are keen to visit Namibia might reconsider planning a trip to Namibia if they highly regard the opinions of the American Centre of Disease Control (CDC). This in turn could be negative for the economic recovery we are anticipating for the tourism sector. Namibia has its peak tourist season coming up and many hospitality establishments have indicated a significant increase in bookings,” he said.
Klein added that the CDC decision could influence the classification of Namibia by other countries.
“Should the American CDC’s decision influence other countries to place Namibia on their so-called red lists, then this could lead to cancellations of bookings as international travel to Namibia might be curtailed. It all depends on what international airline companies decide to do,” he said.
According to a CDC announcement,
Level 4 is known as “Special Circumstances/Do Not Travel.” No locations are currently on that list.
There were about 115 destinations at Level 3 on June 6. Level 3 locations now account for almost half of the roughly 235 places monitored by the CDC.
“Make sure you are up to date with your Covid-19 vaccines before traveling to these destinations. If you are not up to date with your Covid-19 vaccines, avoid travel to these destinations,” the CDC warned about Level 3 locations.
In April, the agency removed all destinations from the Level 4 risk category, saying it would reserve “Level 4” warnings “for special circumstances, such as rapidly escalating case trajectory or extremely high case counts, emergence of a new variant of concern, or healthcare infrastructure collapse.”
“With this new configuration, travelers will have a more actionable alert for when they should not travel to a certain destination (Level 4), regardless of vaccination status, until we have a clearer understanding of the Covid-19 situation at that destination,” the statement said.
This comes as the Hosea Kutako International Airport recorded the highest foreign arrivals in April 2022 since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak two years ago.
A total 13,047 visitors arrived in April 2022, compared to 7,739 in the prior month, registering a rise of 68.6% m/m and 4,549 in April 2021 rising 186.8% y/y.
On Wednesday the Ministry of Health announced 154 positive cases from 746 results in the last 24-hour reporting cycle, bringing the number of active Covid-19 cases to 1 969.
