Namibia received 169 565 tourist arrivals in 2020, representing a massive decline of 89.4 per cent as compared to over 1.6 million tourists received in 2019.
Speaking at the launch of the National Tourist Arrival Statistics Report here on Wednesday, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta said 81 per cent of the tourist arrivals in 2020 were recorded between January and March 2020 before the state of emergency and country lockdown following the COVID-19 outbreak.
He indicated that South Africa was the main African source market providing 28.6 per cent, while Germany represented 11.6 per cent of the overseas market of total tourist arrivals in 2020.
Shifeta further indicated that during the government tourism revival initiative from September 2020 to March 2021, a total of 61 663 tourist were recorded, noting that although these figures are too low to sustain the sector, they are commendable and it was worth government’s efforts to open up the international airport and invite tourists back to Namibia as a safe destination during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The world has changed considerably due to COVID-19, with international arrivals dropping significantly. Therefore now that travel restrictions are lifted, sector players should work together to promote, market and offer reasonable accommodation prices and attractive productions to attract both Namibians and leisure travellers from all over the world,” he noted.
Shifeta said with indicators showing that international tourists will be slower to come back in 2023 or 2024, there is a need to collectively revive tourism businesses and manage recovery in a way that is economically viable, safe and attractive for tourists from all stakeholders in the public and private sector at large.
“The domestic market, if put at the centre of the recovery of tourism, will help to mitigate the immediate impact of job losses and business closures and forms a foundation for the industry to become more resilient,” said Shifeta.
Source: Namibia press Agency
