Twenty years of booming tourism

NAMIBIA’S unique landscape, rich cultural diversity and efficient service providers ensure that the country is increasingly becoming the favoured destination for many regional and overseas tourists.

Trends in tourism statistics two decades ago point to a bright future for the tourism industry in Namibia. The Chief Executive Officer of Namibia Tourism Board (NTB), Digu //Naobeb, made these remarks reflecting on the country’s achievements and challenges experienced in the past two decades.The tourism industry is one of the major contributors to Namibia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the second largest contributor after mining.The number of foreign arrivals has more than quadrupled in the past two decades.According to the annual report of the NTB, in 2007, international tourist arrivals grew by 11,4 per cent to reach a new record figure of 928 912 – a move that was described by the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, as an astonishing achievement. In 1993, just after Independence, total arrivals stood at only 254 978.A total of 1 244 accommodation establishments were in operation in 2007, of which 133 were newly opened for business, and a further 1 220 regulated businesses were registered, bringing the total tourism businesses registered with the NTB by the end of March 2008 to 2 962.’It is phenomenal that the tourism industry achieved this growth without many tax or investment incentives being offered by the Government, as has been done by other competitor destinations,’ Nandi-Ndaitwah said.//Naobeb said proudly: ‘We are working hard to be the number one contributor of the GDP.’ The NTB is the only legal tourism authority in Namibia mandated by the government to regulate tourism industry.//Naobeb indicated that since Namibia’s Independence, the tourism industry has not been separated from the National Accounts except for hotels and restaurants. Therefore, it was difficult to measure the economic contribution of the tourism industry to the economy until 2006 when they published the Tourism Satelite Account (TSA), which is the extension of the National Account, and it showed that the tourism industry contributed 14,2 per cent to the GDP in 2006.In the harsh economic conditions prevailing worldwide currently, the industry in 2007 registered an impressive growth of 11 per cent in the tourist arrival statistics.’It is forecast that the contribution will increase by 9,3 per cent in 2008 and 2009 respectively,’ //Naobeb said.He said the increase in tourist arrival statistics from 1996 to 2007, with exception of 2003, is a good indication that the sector is indeed growing.The priority area to stimulate the influx of tourists to Namibia is that the industry should put emphasis on quality and efficiency delivery of service to visitors, that is called ‘customer care’, //Noebeb stated.Tourists that visited Namibia in 1996 were 461 310, and in 1997, the number amounted to 502 012, while in 1998, 614 368 entered the country.In 2001, the number increased to 670 497, while in 2002, the tourists who visited Namibia amounted to 757 201, but in 2003, the country experienced a decrease of nine per cent compared to 2002.Only 695 221 tourists visited Namibia in 2003.’The decrease was registered due to the then political instability in the Kavango Region, where three French-speaking tourists were killed by Unita bandits,’ he added.In 2005, the number picked up again up to 777 890, while in 2006, 833 345 foreign tourists crossed into Namibia.The number increased in 2007 when 928 912 tourists visited Namibia, and an estimate of 1,2 million visitors entered Namibia in 2008. The reports of statistics of tourists that visited the country in 2008 and 2009 are not yet released, he said, adding that the number is also estimated to have decreased between five per cent and ten per cent in 2009, due to the harsh economic conditions prevailed worldwide.//Naobeb said the worldwide economic down turn in 2009 was one of the major challenges, just like in other sectors, that is why it is estimated that there is a decrease in the arrival of tourists in Namibia in 2009.’Last year, visitors opted not to go for luxury commodities,’ he explained.Despite the harsh economic conditions, the number of people employed in the sector, however, increased to 75 000 people this year, and the industry recorded a major capital investments.//Noabeb indicated that Germany still remains the country’s tourist market, due to the long history between the two peoples, the German historical buildings and architectures at the coastal towns of the country and German community living in Namibia.In addition, he said, Benelux, Scandinavia, Canada and United States of America are the emerging markets.This year, the tourism sector, especially the accommodation establishments are set to benefit from the much-awaited 2010 Soccer world Cup to take place in South Africa this year,’ he stated.He added: ‘We anticipate to benefit either from South Africans who do not want overcrowded therefore looking for space in Namibia or some teams which may come to train in Namibia.’’Namibia has already developed a branding kit which differentiate us from the rest of our competitors, however, naturally we have a blue sky, wild open spaces and beautiful scenery where we capitalise on them to position ourselves,’ he added. – Nampa