The Hosea Kutako International Airport recorded the highest foreign arrivals in April 2022 since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak two years ago.
A total 13,047 visitors arrived in April 2022, compared to 7,739 in the prior month, registering a rise of 68.6% m/m and 4,549 in April 2021 rising 186.8% y/y.
Data suggests that the country is already seeing the benefits of various international airlines having increased the number of their weekly flights to Namibia.
Regional arrivals have increased by double digits as well. There were 11,934 regional arrivals in April 2022, compared to 10,392 in the prior month, up by 14.8% m/m and 7,017 in April 2021 rising 70.1% y/y.
According to Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) Chief Executive Gitta Paetzold: “With active marketing, promotions and trade participation of Namibian tourism businesses at national, regional and international level in recent months, the industry is confident, that the current tourism recovery trend will continue, as there is huge interest in and demand for Namibia from the global travel trade”.
A national occupancy rate of 36.5% was recorded during April 2022, compared to 28.6% in the prior month and 27.7% in April 2021 according to HAN.
According to Simonis Storm this is the highest national occupancy rate since the pandemic outbreak in 2020. YTD, the national occupancy rate averages 26.5%, compared to 21.9% for the same period in 2021, showing an improvement in bookings made with nationwide hospitality establishments.
The proportion of Namibian visitors at local establishments remain on a declining trend, where 37.7% of visitors were Namibians during April 2022 compared to 43.7% during the prior month. This is a positive trend as foreign nationals typically spend more money than locals at establishments.
Most visitors in April 2022 came from Germany, Switzerland and Austria (30.3%), South Africa (8.5%), France (5.7%), Benelux (5.28%) and the UK and Ireland (2.2%) during April 2022. 47% of all guests came from greater Europe (Baltics, Scandinavia and the UK) which is close to pre-pandemic levels of about 50%.
“This indicates that Namibia’s main markets are returning to normal levels,” Simonis Storm Economist Theo Klein said.
Tented camps recorded the highest occupancy rates in April 2022 at 61.3% (compared to 28.9% in the prior month), followed by bed & breakfasts (57.5%), hotels with more than 30 rooms (47.4%), tented lodges (42.4%), guest farms (33.4%), lodges (31.6%) and guesthouses (29.0%).
Inter-regional travel by locals over the Easter weekend could potentially have assisted in maintaining higher occupancy rates across the country.
Regarding purpose of travel into Namibia, 93.3% came for leisure, 3.7% for business and 2.9% for conferences. Hospitality establishments in the central area recorded the highest occupancy rate (41.5%), followed by the coastal area (40.5%), southern area (36.7%) and northern area (31.4%) in April 2022.
“Capacity of airlines on the African continent has steadily improved, increasing from 42.9% in July 2021 to 67.3% in March 2022 according to the African Airlines Association (AFRAA). This is expected to boost tourism growth for most Southern African economies, which could in turn benefit tourist flows to Namibia as well,” Klein said.
