Namibia’s hospitality sector experienced a continued contraction in February 2025, with notable declines in both room and bed occupancy rates across all regions, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA).
The Rooms Occupancy Rate Index registered a 14.9% decrease in February, a marginal improvement compared to the 15.9% contraction recorded in January. On a year-on-year basis, the index declined by 14.1%.
“The monthly decrease was primarily attributed to a drop in room occupancy across hospitality establishments for all the regions,” the NSA reported.
Among the regions, the coastal region recorded the sharpest monthly decline in room occupancy at 23.7%, followed by the central region at 22.7%. The northern and southern regions saw contractions of 16.9% and 8.3%, respectively.
Nationwide, a total of 49,772 rooms were available in February, of which 15,546 rooms (31.2%) were sold. This marked a decrease from January’s figures, when 52,948 rooms were available and 19,443 (36.7%) were sold.
“In the northern region, available rooms declined to 20,412 in February from 21,576 in January, though still higher than the 19,057 rooms available in February 2024. Rooms sold in the region also declined to 5,698 in February 2025, down from 7,248 the previous month and 5,914 in February 2024,” noted NSA
The southern region offered 16,676 rooms in February, with 5,441 sold, leaving 11,235 rooms unoccupied.
Accommodation types showed mixed trends as hotels and rest camps experienced increases in room occupancy rates, with hotels rising to 42.1% in February from 41.8% in January, and rest camps increasing to 12.2% from 11.6%.
However, other establishments saw a downturn. Guest farms fell to a 34.7% occupancy rate from 36.9% in January, while tented camps dropped to 34.0% from 40.5%. Lodges declined to 27.1% from 33.9%.
