In 2025 Namibia’s national parks welcomed 994 780 visitors.
National parks are the backbone of the Namibian tourism industry, attracting tourists from all walks of life but proving especially popular with international visitors, who made up 72% of the total.
Visitors from within the Southern African Development Community accounted for 10% and locals 18%.
Some 85% of visitation was concentrated among Namibia’s most popular parks: Etosha drew 39% (387 663 visitors), Namib-Naukluft 24% (236 778) and Dorob 22% (222 272). While most parks recorded an increase in visitors from 2024 to 2025, Bwabwata, Waterberg Plateau, //Ai-//Ais Hot Springs, Khaudum and Mangetti saw declines, with //Ai-//Ais Hot Springs contracting the most, down 11%.
In absolute terms, however, Bwabwata saw 3 741 fewer visitors in 2025 than in 2024.
With the peak season for the parks from July to October, activity at the parks is expected to be elevated in the near term, so any readers interested in visiting our beautiful parks might want to hold off if they want to avoid the crowd.
