Namibia has recorded a 65% tourist occupancy of accommodation and establishments across the country, surpassing the 64% recorded in 2019.
The figure is attributed to a 34.68% increase in tourist arrivals from Central Europe, including German-speaking countries, while arrivals from France and Italy saw a 3% increase from 2019.
Leisure travel is still the highest contributor to the tourism sector, making up 88.68% of the travel figure, while business contributed 10.10% and conferences 1.21%. This shows a decline in conference travel compared to pre-pandemic data, which saw conference travel at 2.92% in the same quarter.
“Leisure travel still dominates the occupancy numbers at Namibian accommodation establishments, although some hotels are reporting a gradual increase in demand for business and conference packages,” the Hospitality Association of Namibia reports.
However, on a month-to-month basis, September 2023 saw a 2% decrease in tourism activity compared to 2019 levels, reversing the growth trend on recovery levels seen in July and August this year.
The association says: “The accommodation performance indicators exceed the level of recovery of the larger tour operation sector, which reveals that the online reservations and self-drive component of the Namibian tourism market were the first to fully recover and grow.”
According to the report, for Namibia to keep the tourism recovery and growth momentum, industry, service providers and property owners should use this time to prepare strong regional and international marketing efforts and maintain properties, develop skills and optimise products.
Namibia is entering peak season as tourists flock to the country to escape winter in the Northern Hemisphere. As a result, the hospitality association predicts further recovery of the group travel market next year.
