Namibia’s hotel bookings surged to 26,534 rooms in March 2024, reflecting a 19.1% increase compared to the same month in 2023 driven by coastal destinations and hotel bookings.
The surge in demand translated into a national average room occupancy rate that jumped by 35.4% compared to the previous month. The positive trend extends even further back, with a year-on-year increase of 21.1%
According to the Namibia Statistics Agency’s (NSA) Sectoral report, the coastal region emerged as the leader, boasting a 54.9% rise in room occupancy rates.
The southern and central regions also enjoyed a significant boost, recording increases of 47.6% and 0.9%, respectively.
The report further indicates that the number of rooms available in the north jumped to 21,700, representing an increase from 19,057 and 19,654 rooms, respectively. This rise in available rooms was accompanied by a surge in room sales.
Tourists booked 9,938 rooms in March 2024, a considerable increase compared to the 5,914 and 6,792 rooms sold in February and March of the previous year.
While the southern region also saw an increase in available rooms (19,251) in March 2024, the number of rooms sold (9,532) resulted in a surplus of unbooked rooms (9,719).
Looking at bed occupancy rates, it is reported that the national average reached 44.1%, signifying a remarkable increase from 36.4% in March 2023.
The northern region emerged as the leader with a growth of 49.6%, followed by the southern which rose by 49.3% and coastal regions by 28.8%. The central region registered a more modest increase of 2.8%.
The report also highlights that March 2024 witnessed a significant rise in occupancy rates across all hospitality establishment types compared to February 2024.
Hotels led the surge, with occupancy jumping from 51.5% in February to 64.3% in March while guest farms also saw a substantial increase, with occupancy rates climbing from 34.4% to 49.6%.
Tented establishments followed a similar trend, experiencing an increase from 39.5% to 49.3% occupancy, while tented camps saw occupancy rates climb from 38.6% to 49.1%.
Additionally, guest houses showed the least increase during the period under review by 30.3% in March compared to 29.0% in February.
