Namibia’s domestic tourism is under pressure amid revelations that locals are staying away from hotels and lodges due to rising cost pressures, latest figures from the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) show.
According to statistics, locals only made up 17.9% of bookings in July 2022, down from 34% in June.
This is a steep decline from a high of 52.9% recorded in January this year.
“Local tourism might be limited in the near future as local travellers battle with expensive food, fuel and accommodation prices,” Simonis Storm Economist Theo Klein warned.
This was after the research firm had previously warned in April that holiday makers would be paying more in the coming months amid indications that local hospitality establishments may increase their charges to cater for rising cost pressures.
Establishments offering accommodation services according to Klein have recorded double digit inflation rates averaging 15.1% year to date.
“This is evident that local hospitality establishments have little capacity in absorbing a rise in input costs (e.g. electricity tariffs, food, fuel, wages, etc.). The hotels, cafés and restaurants category has recorded high single digit inflation rates in recent months – averaging 9.0% YTD,” he said.
The Namibia Tourism Board early this year called for reforms in the existing pricing system for local hospitality establishment from the current per person rate to room rate to make it more affordable for local travellers.
Tourists from Central Europe, however, made up 57% of total guests at local hospitality establishments for the period under review, with 31.3% of guests in July 2022 travelling from Germany, Switzerland and Austria combined, South Africa (12.2%), Benelux (10.9%), France (7.3%) and the US and Canada combined (4.3%).
According to the latest annual National Accounts data, the Hotels and restaurants sector, which only accounts for 2% of GDP, grew by 8.8%.
