No money for luxury holidays

FINANCIAL troubles eating deeper into the pockets of European and American consumers have hit local up-market tourist operators hard.The first Tourism Index, compiled by FNB Namibia and the Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations (Fenata), showed that growth in in the local industry is dramatically lagging behind that of Europe. Whereas Europe’s tourism index grew five per cent during the first quarter of 2012, the FNB & Fenata Tourism Index was up only 0,2 per cent.

The index, which is not based on numbers, but on the opinions of tourism operators, cited low demand as the main constraint. High taxes, crime and the poor state of Namibia’s roads also discourage potential tourists.Low-budget tourism, like bed & breakfast and self-catering establishment, reported higher revenue over the past few months, but guest farms, lodges and tour operators showed lower earnings.“Outbound travel from Europe was weak in the first quarter, while demand from the US market dampened the sentiment of hunting outfits,” the report stated.The index said hunting operators were “surprisingly less optimistic” two months into the hunting season. “They complained about weak demand for hunting trips from the US source market, which is forecast to generate fewer tourists in 2012.”A weaker Namibia dollar against the major international currencies, making travelling to Namibia cheaper, didn’t help to boost tourism either. “The few tourists that were here spent roughly the same amount as the first quarter of 2011,” the index said.Occupancy rates showed that fewer leisure tourists visited Namibia, but that more businesspeople travelled to the country.Many operators, especially car rentals, guest houses and self-catering facilities, expect tourism to pick up over the next six months as Namibia moves into peak season.“The rest of the industry is slightly optimistic about tourist numbers over the next months,” the index said, adding that lodges and guest farms have the weakest expectations.Travel demand is expected to increase by one per cent in the European source market, while falling one per cent in the American source market.”Even though the local tourism industry grew by 40 per cent from April 2011 to this April, this year is unlikely to be a better tourism season than last year, Namene Kalili, manager of research and competitor intelligence at FNB Namibia, said.He said the local tourism industry is “scaling down on cost within the current economic climate”. While car rental businesses, guest houses and self-catering establishments plan to increase their capital expenditure in anticipation of better tourist prospects, they intend to employ fewer staff.“The industry is in a consolidation phase to meet the changing expectations of cost-conscious travellers,” Kalili said.