Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) says the sector continues to struggle although there are signs of recovery.
The association cited an article in the Business Insider Africa, crowning Windhoek the healthiest city in Africa to visit in 2022 and that no country in the world had put travel bans to Namibia as good signs.
“Whether we agree with all the points or not, it remains good marketing for Namibia in attracting tourists during 2022,” said HAN. Business Insider Africa claimed that the city is generally kept in a good state, with roads kept clean and drainage systems managed well.
Other cities on the health list include Johannesburg in second place, Kumasi (3rd), Durban (4th), Tunis (5th) and Kigali (10th), said HAN in an article quoted by Simonis Storm.
“Namibia maintained the Covid-19 protocols put in place in December 2021, making life relatively comfortable for tourists and allowing domestic tourism activity. We, therefore, believe that the current environment remains favourable to tourists once they are able to enter our country.”
HAN said allowing fully vaccinated Namibian citizens, permanent residents and truck drivers into Namibia without a negative PCR test has been a positive development in recent weeks.
“However, the 72-hour PCR test validity requirement still makes it difficult for tourists to visit Namibia. This is especially the case for tourists from the United States who are challenged to comply as a result of time zone differences, flight times and who endure lengthy layovers,” HAN said.
From 56 establishments, a national occupancy rate of 18,5% was recorded in January 2022, compared to 27,8% in December 2021, according to HAN. This is the lowest occupancy rate observed since the pandemic outbreak as January 2020 and 2021 recorded a national occupancy rate of 7,7% and 20,27%, respectively.
During January 2022, 52,9% of the visitors at local establishments were Namibian. The majority of foreign tourists who visited local establishments during January 2022 travelled from South Africa (10,0%), Benelux (2,7%), France (2,6%), the UK and Ireland (2,3%) and European countries, excluding France, Germany, Spain and Italy (3,1%), said Simonis.
Rest camps posted the highest occupancy rate (40,7%), followed by boutique hotels (27,5%), guesthouses (26,6%), guest farms (24,8%) and lodges (17,9%).
About 90,7% of visitors came to Namibia for leisure, 6,4% for business and 2,9% for conferences. Hospitality establishments in the central area recorded the highest occupancy rate (27,5%), followed by the coastal area (24,7%) and both southern and northern areas recording about 15% in January 2022.
Namibia currently has 14,5% of the population fully vaccinated and increasing the vaccination rate among the population will provide foreigners with peace of mind in travelling to Namibia, HAN said.
“Additional and well targeted marketing to Namibia’s main tourist partners would also go a long way in attracting foreigners to our country,” the association said.
HAN has lobbied the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism to allow fully vaccinated tourists into the country without the need to provide a negative PCR test.
“This suggestion has also been raised at Bank of Namibia’s seminar, which discussed a recovery map for the economy. We believe that altering the current regulations – would greatly assist in attracting tourists to Namibia. Removing the need for a negative PCR test is what numerous other countries have done in recent weeks.
Besides, having to present a negative PCR test adds costs to travelling budgets. Other costs include cutting a trip in remote areas short, given the lack of widespread availability of Covid-19 testing centres in Namibia. This adds to frustration and tips the cost/benefit of travelling to countries such as Namibia said Simonis.
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