Namibia’s tourism sector continues to grow, with July 2024 witnessing a new record of 49,534 passenger arrivals, surpassing the previous high set in October 2023, a new report shows.
A recent report by Simonis Storm indicates that July 2024 also saw the highest number of international arrivals, while domestic arrivals were the second lowest.
According to Simonis Storm Economic Researcher, Halleluya Ndimulunde, of the total arrivals, 44% were international travelers, 45% were regional visitors, and the remaining 11% were domestic passengers.
“Notably, July 2024 marked the highest international arrivals of the year, while domestic arrivals were the second lowest on record for 2024. In contrast, passenger departures declined in July 2024, primarily due to a decrease in international departures as visitors returned to their home countries,” she said.
She further explained that the national occupancy rate for accommodation establishments stood at 59.7% in July 2024, slightly lower than the previous year but close to pre-pandemic levels.
The northern regions led in occupancy, followed by the central, coastal, and southern areas.
“The northern regions led with an occupancy rate of 62.8%, followed by the central areas at 60.8%, the coastal regions at 59.8%, and the southern regions at 56.5%,” she said.
Leisure tourism remains the primary driver of tourist inflows, accounting for 91.7% of visitors staying in hospitality establishments.
Business tourism also saw a significant increase, reaching 8.2% in July 2024, up from 2.1% in June.
“The majority of these leisure tourists chose to explore the northern and southern regions. In terms of accommodation, they predominantly selected bed and breakfasts, hotels, lodges, and tented camps,” Ndimulunde said.
New vehicle sales by rental agencies increased in July 2024 to 141 units from 54 units in the previous month reflecting the growing demand from tourists.
The Bank of Namibia noted that installment and leasing credit uptake remains strong, driven by the car rental industry.
Additionally, Europeans continued to be the largest group of visitors, followed by Namibians.
South Africa accounted for 6.3%, North America 5.0%, Asia 2.7%, and the rest of Africa also contributed 1.7% to the visitor numbers.
“As usual, Europeans represented the largest share of visitors, accounting for 66.3%, followed by Namibians at 16.4%. The proportion of Namibians declined from 22.55% in June 2024, likely due to the current period not being a holiday season in Namibia, which traditionally results in lower domestic travel during these months,” Ndimulunde said.
She said a standout observation was the record high of 11.6% for Benelux tourists (Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg) the highest in over five years.
This reflects the strong market presence of Benelux tourists and targeted efforts by product providers, she said.
Meanwhile, the annual inflation rate for package holidays had decreased significantly, dropping from 89.5% year-on-year in July 2023 to 15.1% year-on-year in July 2024.
However, the inflation rates for hotels, cafés, and restaurants remained stable at 8.4% year-on-year during both June and July.
The higher inflation in this sector was primarily attributed to the accommodation services subsector, which experienced an inflation rate of 11.1% year-on-year in July.
“Additionally, the catering services subsector experienced a slight increase in inflation during the same period,” she said.
