Namibians urged to discover own country

SOME Namibians have not yet seen the ocean, desert or wild animals such as elephant or rhinos in real life, Environment and Tourism Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said over the weekend.

Addressing the national marking of the World Tourism Day at Tsumkwe on Saturday, Nandi-Ndaitwah said ‘this must change.’She said Namibians must start to travel in their own country and enjoy what it has to offer. ‘We Namibians need to explore our country, we must appreciate our country,’ she said.Nandi-Ndaitwah said while it was a valid reason that Namibians do not travel as they should because various accommodations are too expensive, there are other options such as camping which could be affordable and more fun.She said Namibians should also learn a culture of saving so that they can one day afford a memorable holiday in their own country. The Namibian yesterday briefly spoke to Phillipus Shuudi, a Windhoek taxi driver. He said up to now he has never been to the coast to see the Atlantic Ocean.’I have no money to go there. Where will I get the money to sleep in a lodge or hotel,’ he asked. Shuudi hopes that one day he will save enough money to enable him to go to the coast.’Tourists who come to Namibia do not just decide overnight to do so, but they rather plan in advance and save money for years before going on holiday,’ Nandi-Ndaitwah said.She said while Namibia’s tourism industry grew by 11 per cent between 2006 and 2007, the industry was hit hard by economic crises in 2008 and 2009.’The outlook for 2010 looks bright in terms of recovery for the tourism sector, against the backdrop of the recovery of the world’s economies from the global economic crisis,’ Nandi-Ndaitwah added.The United Nations World Tourism Organisation has indicated that during the first half of this year, there was a seven per cent growth in international tourist arrivals world-wide.