Africa-Press – Namibia. INTERNATIONAL travel operators regard Namibia as an affordable destination and have diverse travel packages available for various budgets.
According to the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN), Namibia continues to record improved inflow of foreign visitors, as tourism operators use this as a marketing tool “to address the challenges of curbed travel appetite during economic hardships”.
South African Airlines (SAA) is the latest to join the group of airlines servicing international airports in Namibia, which is part of the SAA restart strategy.
An analysis by Simonis Storm Securities says foreign arrivals at national airports increased by 16,8% month on month (m/m) in October, compared to -8% m/m in the prior month.
“On an annual basis, foreign arrivals increased by 104,4% year on year (y/y) in October this year, compared to 159,1% y/y in the prior month,” the analysis reads.
A strong recovery in foreign arrivals has supported improving occupancy rates at nationwide hospitality establishments in Namibia.
Local tourism operators have also increased marketing initiatives to attract visitors from southern Africa.
“To this end, we see that regional arrivals have increased by 4,7% m/m and 55,5% y/y in October 2022,” Simonis says.
A national occupancy rate of 45,8% was recorded during November 2022, compared to 54,6% in the prior month, and 35,1% in November 2021, according to HAN.
Year to date, the national occupancy rate averages at 40,3%, compared to 23,5% in 2021, and 15,6% in 2020 for the same period (January to November).
Although occupancy rates have declined for the last two months – as Namibia’s peak tourist season has ended – occupancy rates at nationwide hospitality establishments improved from levels observed for 2020 and 2021.
The proportion of Namibian guests at local hospitality establishments increased since Namibia’s peak tourist season came to an end in September.
Namibian guests accounted for 25,3% of all guests nationwide in November 2022, a further increase from 16% recorded in the prior month.
Europe continues to be Namibia’s most important tourist source market, with over 40% of all guests in November 2022 visiting Namibia coming from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy.
The central and coastal areas in Namibia experienced the fastest recovery in tourists visiting hospitality establishments in those areas as they recorded the highest occupancy rates at 46,3% and 42,9% respectively year to date.
“Year to date, the hotels and restaurant category in our consumer price basket has recorded 9,6% in annual inflation on average, compared to a long-run average of 6,3%.
“This category has become the second-largest contributor to the change in annual inflation in recent months, implying that Namibians travelling throughout the country will pay higher prices for their holiday,” Simonis says.
The average lodge has increased its room price per person per night by 13,4%, the average game drive price increased by 10,0% per person, and campsite prices have increased by 13,4% per person per night on average by December 2022, compared to December 2021.
This could limit domestic tourism in the upcoming festive season.
And with fewer foreigners expected to visit Namibia, occupancy rates could remain stagnant or increase only marginally this festive season.
“We expect Namibians to cut back on their travel spending or opt for special deals where possible, given the significant increase in the cost of living throughout 2022.
“We therefore expect occupancy rates for December 2022 to be stagnant or only slightly improved. However, on an annual basis, tourism would have contributed positively to economic activity, and so to gross domestic product growth for 2022,” Simonis says.
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