More tourists flock to Namibia every year
243 466 visitors in 2022, 169 565 in 2020
Despite a positive rise in tourism arrivals, the numbers represent about 15% of the pre-Covid-19 numbers of about 1.59 million tourists visiting the country annually.
Tourist arrivals to Namibia increased by 4.6% from 2021 to a total of 243 466 during the 2022 tourism season.
According to tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta, although the past two years have been gloomy for many in the tourism and travel sectors, the future looks promising.
He said tourist arrival numbers have seen a consistent rise over the past few years - they rose by 37.3% in 2021, from 169 565 visitors in 2020 to 232 756 arrivals recorded in 2021.
"However, I would like to add that these visitor numbers remain very low for the country as it only represents about 15% of the pre-Covid-19 numbers at about 1.59 million tourist arrivals," the minister said.
Shifeta made these remarks at the National Assembly in response to questions posed with regards to the post-Covid-19 tourism strategy.
He said the ministry initiated and conducted a socio-economic assessment of the impact of Covid-19 on tourism in Namibia in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme in 2021.
"The report is vital to understand the current and evolving scenarios to secure the re-emergence of the tourism industry post Covid-19.”
Strategy outlined
A final report titled 'Covid-19 Socio-Economic Impact Assessment on Tourism in Namibia' of 2021 is available to the public.
Moreover, he said that the outcome of this assessment led to the subsequent development of the tourism recovery plan for 2022–2024.
He said the plan sets out the framework for a sectoral strategic approach to addressing matters that have a bearing on the recovery of the tourism economy and the strategic interventions required to support growth at each stage of the recovery process.
These interventions are part of the ministry’s collective effort geared towards inclusive tourism growth and recovery.
The national tourism recovery plan is underpinned by five strategic interventions: policy matters and Covid-19 tourism regulations and measures; aggressive online marketing and promotion campaigns; attracting new geo- and special segments of the global travel markets; increasing tourism market intelligence through statistics, data collection, and analysis; and improving accessibility and connectivity to Namibia.
According to tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta, although the past two years have been gloomy for many in the tourism and travel sectors, the future looks promising.
He said tourist arrival numbers have seen a consistent rise over the past few years - they rose by 37.3% in 2021, from 169 565 visitors in 2020 to 232 756 arrivals recorded in 2021.
"However, I would like to add that these visitor numbers remain very low for the country as it only represents about 15% of the pre-Covid-19 numbers at about 1.59 million tourist arrivals," the minister said.
Shifeta made these remarks at the National Assembly in response to questions posed with regards to the post-Covid-19 tourism strategy.
He said the ministry initiated and conducted a socio-economic assessment of the impact of Covid-19 on tourism in Namibia in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme in 2021.
"The report is vital to understand the current and evolving scenarios to secure the re-emergence of the tourism industry post Covid-19.”
Strategy outlined
A final report titled 'Covid-19 Socio-Economic Impact Assessment on Tourism in Namibia' of 2021 is available to the public.
Moreover, he said that the outcome of this assessment led to the subsequent development of the tourism recovery plan for 2022–2024.
He said the plan sets out the framework for a sectoral strategic approach to addressing matters that have a bearing on the recovery of the tourism economy and the strategic interventions required to support growth at each stage of the recovery process.
These interventions are part of the ministry’s collective effort geared towards inclusive tourism growth and recovery.
The national tourism recovery plan is underpinned by five strategic interventions: policy matters and Covid-19 tourism regulations and measures; aggressive online marketing and promotion campaigns; attracting new geo- and special segments of the global travel markets; increasing tourism market intelligence through statistics, data collection, and analysis; and improving accessibility and connectivity to Namibia.
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