The Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) worries that the government’s decision to require visas from countries that don’t offer reciprocal visa exemptions will negatively impact the tourism sector and the country’s attractiveness as a destination.
The government implemented visa requirements for citizens from countries that have not reciprocated the nation’s visa exemption policy.
Citizens from over 30 countries will no longer enjoy visa-free access to Namibia if their nations fail to reciprocate visa exemption agreements.
“This announcement comes as a huge disappointment to HAN and a large part of the tourism sector,” HAN Chief Executive Gitta Paetzold told The Brief.
“In this very competitive environment, especially with East Africa, where Kenya just announced visa free entry for all nationals this year, in addition to their advantage of a multitude of direct air access routes into the East-African region, compared to Namibia’s limited access as yet, our efforts to position Namibia as destination of choice may now suffer a huge setback. We do understand the principle of reciprocity, but in terms of tourism, the value of this sector on our national economy is far greater than in the economies of our international source markets.”
She said without details on the operationalisation of the government decision, the sector was not sure on what measures to take to cushion the impact on the industry.
“No consultations were done to determine the negative impact this may have on the travel sector. Namibia has been hard at work to position itself as an open, easily accessible travel destination in Africa. While awaiting more details in terms of implementation date and the process…whether visa on arrival would be offered to all, and at what cost, we are very concerned about the message that this announcement sends out to the global travel trade. Without full details it may be premature to determine mitigating measures,” Paetzold said.
Cirrus Capital said adding visa requirements acts as a barrier to tourists and may disincentivise travel to Namibia, possibly leading them to opt for other countries without visa requirements.
“Should the Ministry of Home Affairs ensure the process for obtaining a visa is efficient and hassle-free, the negative impact on tourism numbers could be reduced,” Cirrus Capital’s Head of Data & Analytics Tannan Groenewald said.
Data shared by Cirrus Capital shows that since 2015, over 70% of tourists in Namibia have come from countries affected by the revocation of visa-free entry into Namibia if their countries do not reciprocate.
“Countries such as Germany, France, the United States and the United Kingdom are included. The affected countries have also increased their contribution to the total number of tourists visiting Namibia. The increased proportion of overseas tourists in the past few years means we are increasingly reliant on easy, hassle-free access for foreigners,” he said.
“The unaffected countries mainly consist of African nations, with South African tourists making up over 60% of visitors from unaffected countries. However, South Africans have gradually made up less of the total tourist arrivals as relatively high inflation in recent years has tightened their travel budgets more so than those in affected countries.”
Groenewald said the tourism sector remains one of the country’s biggest employers, with multiplier effects on the domestic economy.
“Tourism provides a significant number of jobs in the country. According to the 2018 Namibia Labour Force Survey, the Accommodation & Food Services sector made up 11% of all employed persons in the country at the time.
“Tourism typically creates more formal jobs in outlying areas where other formal employment opportunities may be scarce. Additionally, tourism benefits the nation by earning foreign currency, and the sector has large multiplier effects given its linkages and reliance on other domestic economic sectors – including the effect on indirect employment,” he said.
