Namibia’s hospitality sector recorded a strong recovery in March 2026, with room occupancy increasing by 35.4% month-on-month as tourism and travel activity picked up across the country.
According to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), the national room occupancy rate rose to 43.9% in March from 32.4% in February.
The agency said the Room Occupancy Rate Index rebounded during the month after declining by 3.9% in February, although occupancy levels remained marginally lower than the 44.3% recorded in March 2025.
A total of 54,498 rooms were available nationwide during March, of which 23,903 were occupied.
“The monthly increase was driven by higher occupancy levels across hospitality establishments in all regions during the review period,” the NSA said.
The central region recorded the strongest monthly growth in occupancy, with room occupancy rising by 94.6%, followed by the coastal and northern regions, which both registered increases of 32.9%. The southern region recorded a 30.4% increase.
Hotels and tented lodges delivered the strongest performance among accommodation categories.
Occupancy at tented lodges surged to 65.5% from 36.8% in February, while hotel occupancy increased to 52.0% from 39.7%.
“Guest farms recorded occupancy of 41.7%, up from 34.9% in the previous month, while tented camps increased to 48.6% from 41.7%. Rest camps also improved to 27.7% from 21.1%,” the NSA said.
The agency also reported a recovery in bed occupancy levels.
The Bed Occupancy Rate Index increased by 28.5% month-on-month in March, reversing the 8.3% decline recorded in February. However, bed occupancy remained 6.5% lower than the level recorded in March 2025.
“At the regional level, the central area registered the highest month-on-month increase in bed occupancy of 58.7% in March 2026, followed by a 37.5% rise in the coastal region. The southern and northern regions also recorded increases of 33.0% and 20.6%, respectively, during the same period,” the NSA said.
Nationally, 42,751 beds were occupied out of 126,015 available beds during March, compared to 36,390 beds occupied out of 137,840 available beds in February.
The latest figures point to a broad-based recovery across Namibia’s hospitality sector, with accommodation establishments in all regions benefiting from increased travel demand during the month.
