By: Justicia Shipena
Namibians are expected to cut back on their travel spending, according to a Simonis Storm report, saying the company expects occupancy rates for December 2022 to be stagnant or to slightly improve.
Simonis Storm added that on an annual basis, tourism would have contributed positively to economic activity and gross domestic product growth for 2022.
“We expect Namibians to cut back on their travel spending or opt for special deals where possible, given the significant increase in cost of living throughout 2022.”
The report states that foreign arrivals at nationwide airports increased by 16.8% month on month in October 2022, compared to -8.0% month on month in the prior month.
Meanwhile, on an annual basis foreign arrivals increased by 104.4% year on year in October 2022.
“A strong recovery in foreign arrivals has supported improving occupancy rates at nationwide hospitality establishments in Namibia.”
The report also shows that local tourism operators have increased marketing initiatives to attract visitors from Southern Africa. This has seen regional arrivals have increased by 4.7% month on month and 55.5% year on year in October 2022.
In November, Namibia recorded a national occupancy rate of 45.8% compared to 54.6% in October and 35.1% in November 2021 according to the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN).
Although occupancy rates are declining 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,” says the report.
Namibian guests accounted for 25.3% of all guests nationwide in November 2022, which is an increase from 16.0% recorded in October, says Simonis Storm.
Furthermore, 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.
In the same month, 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%.
“The hotels and restaurants category in our consumer price basket has recorded 9.6% in annual inflation on average.”
In addition, international travel operators regard Namibia as an affordable destination and have diverse travel packages for various budgets, said HAN.
“Namibian tourist operators could therefore use this as a marketing tool to attract foreigners to address challenges of curbed travel appetite during economic hardships by marketing Namibia as an accessible, affordable and diverse destination,” the association said.
Simonis Storms also expects international travel to largely remain unhindered by Covid-19 restrictions in 2023.
“Early indications from various international operators allude to strong demand for travel to destinations in Southern Africa, especially Namibia according to HAN. This supports our view that the local tourism sector will supplement general economic activity in 2023.”
