Global tourism on track to reach pre-pandemic levels
International tourism is on track to reach 65% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022 as the sector continues to bounce back from the pandemic.
However, the World Tourism Organisation (UNTWO) says the challenging economic environment, including persistently high inflation and soaring energy prices, aggravated by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, could hamper the pace of recovery into next year.
According to the UNTWO, an estimated 700 million tourists travelled internationally between January and September, more than double ( 133%) the number recorded for the same period in 2021.
"This equates to 63% of 2019 levels and puts the sector on course to reach 65% of its pre-pandemic levels this year."
More and more
UNWTO says that results were boosted by strong pent-up demand, improved confidence levels, and the lifting of restrictions in an increasing number of destinations.
Highlighting the speed at which the sector has recovered, the latest World Tourism Barometer from UNWTO reveals that monthly arrivals were 64% below 2019 levels in January 2022 and had reached 27% below those levels by September.
An estimated 340 million international arrivals were recorded in the third quarter of 2022 alone, almost 50% of the nine-month total.
It says that Africa also recorded strong growth between January and September – 166% more than last year, reaching 63% of 2019 levels.
Strong demand
According to UNWTO, the robust recovery of tourism is also reflected in various industry indicators, such as air capacity and hotel metrics. Air seat capacity on international routes (measured in available seat-kilometres) from January to August reached 62% of 2019 levels.
Furthermore, global hotel occupancy rates reached 66% in September 2022, up from 43% in January, with Africa having an occupancy rate of 61%.
Meanwhile in Namibia, a national occupancy rate of 54.6% was recorded during October 2022, compared to 52.9% in the prior month and 33.8% in October 2021, according to the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN).
Better and better
Year-to-date, the national occupancy rate averages 39.7%, compared to 22.3% in 2021 and 15.4% in 2020 for the same period (January to October).
The proportion of Namibian guests at local hospitality establishments increased from 16% in September 2022 to 22.2% in October 2022.
Most guests at nationwide hospitality establishments came from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria (39.7%), France (7.4%), South Africa (5.5%), UK and Ireland (3.9%) and Italy (2.7%).
Hospitality establishments in the northern area recorded the highest occupancy rate (62.3%), followed by the coastal area (56.8%), central area (53.9%) and southern area (46.1%) in October 2022.
However, the World Tourism Organisation (UNTWO) says the challenging economic environment, including persistently high inflation and soaring energy prices, aggravated by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, could hamper the pace of recovery into next year.
According to the UNTWO, an estimated 700 million tourists travelled internationally between January and September, more than double ( 133%) the number recorded for the same period in 2021.
"This equates to 63% of 2019 levels and puts the sector on course to reach 65% of its pre-pandemic levels this year."
More and more
UNWTO says that results were boosted by strong pent-up demand, improved confidence levels, and the lifting of restrictions in an increasing number of destinations.
Highlighting the speed at which the sector has recovered, the latest World Tourism Barometer from UNWTO reveals that monthly arrivals were 64% below 2019 levels in January 2022 and had reached 27% below those levels by September.
An estimated 340 million international arrivals were recorded in the third quarter of 2022 alone, almost 50% of the nine-month total.
It says that Africa also recorded strong growth between January and September – 166% more than last year, reaching 63% of 2019 levels.
Strong demand
According to UNWTO, the robust recovery of tourism is also reflected in various industry indicators, such as air capacity and hotel metrics. Air seat capacity on international routes (measured in available seat-kilometres) from January to August reached 62% of 2019 levels.
Furthermore, global hotel occupancy rates reached 66% in September 2022, up from 43% in January, with Africa having an occupancy rate of 61%.
Meanwhile in Namibia, a national occupancy rate of 54.6% was recorded during October 2022, compared to 52.9% in the prior month and 33.8% in October 2021, according to the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN).
Better and better
Year-to-date, the national occupancy rate averages 39.7%, compared to 22.3% in 2021 and 15.4% in 2020 for the same period (January to October).
The proportion of Namibian guests at local hospitality establishments increased from 16% in September 2022 to 22.2% in October 2022.
Most guests at nationwide hospitality establishments came from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria (39.7%), France (7.4%), South Africa (5.5%), UK and Ireland (3.9%) and Italy (2.7%).
Hospitality establishments in the northern area recorded the highest occupancy rate (62.3%), followed by the coastal area (56.8%), central area (53.9%) and southern area (46.1%) in October 2022.
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