Namibian Tourism Industry and the Future

MATTHIAS NGWANWGAMATHE NAMIBIAN MEDIA fraternity is constantly reminding citizens of the impact of Covid-19 on Namibias social and economic ecosystems.

A case in point is The Namibian, which, in its headline of 26 October 2021, said more than 14 500 workers were retrenched between 1 January 2020 and 30 September 2021 as a result of the struggling economy and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Out of those workers, the hospitality and tourism sector was hard hit, with 4 305 employees retrenched.

Hence the following question: What are the future prospects of the industry amid Covid-19?

Few people can currently venture to predict the future.

However, despite the uncertainty, I will attempt, at extreme personal risk, to provide a view on the future prospects of the Namibian tourism industry.

OCCUPANCY RATES

Business activities resumed from mid-August 2021 onwards, after travel restrictions were partially lifted from 15 August.

Despite losing four active business months (May to August), the tourism industry is still hopeful.

For instance, there was evidence of vibrancy in the industry, especially from the domestic market point of view, but to some extent international travellers as well, after restrictions were lifted.

The somewhat improved 2021 year-to-date occupancy levels attest to that.

Average occupancy levels, which indicate the percentage of occupied rooms at a given facility, is one of the common indicators for assessing the tourism industry.

In 2019, the industry was booming with an occupancy level of 51%.

Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) recorded a 43% average occupancy in that year.

In 2020 – the year of universal suffering and adversity – the prosperity of 2019 plummeted to an average occupancy of 16% nationally.

The chaos and turbulence of 2020 seemed to continue into 2021.

For instance, the average national occupancy rate is only 16% thus far.

However, it seems likely that this years occupancy rate would surpass the 16% in 2020 as a full year.

NWR recorded an average occupancy rate of 26% year to date, which is better than the national average of 16% year to date.

This is mainly due to the emphasis on the domestic tourism market in the absence of international tourists.

What can be concluded from the above? That the domestic tourism market holds potential for the future.

In this context, a proposition can be made that companies that currently attempt to understand the domestic market better, and design products and services tailor-made for this market segment, are likely to do better than those that do not.

In the same way, companies that neglect the domestic tourism market, in favour of waiting for the international leg, are likely to be compressed.

OUTBREAKS, VACCINES

Future Covid-19 variants and outbreaks cannot be ruled out, particularly in view of the current relaxed atmosphere with regard to the movement of people and the upcoming festive season.

There is still a great deal of vaccine hesitancy in the country, to the point that mandatory vaccinations are, now and then, mooted.

The national target is to reach 60% of the total population by the year 2022, which is still a daunting task ahead.

Should this target be truly reached in 2022, the tourism industry stands a good chance to benefit through increased tourist numbers, as well as improved occupancy and revenue.

As was seen when the United Kingdom removed Namibia from the so-called red list on 11 October, or when the Centres for Disease Control downgraded Namibia from Level 4 to Level 3 on 1 September, lower positivity rates improve the future prospects of the tourism industry.