Hospitality establishments in Northern Namibia recorded an occupancy rate of 57.9% in September ahead of those in the southern area (51.1%), coastal area (51.0%) and central area (44.6%), latest figures released by research firm Simonis Storm have shown.
In its quarterly gross domestic figures analysis, Simonis Storm noted that the national occupancy rate for the nine months to September averaged 38.1%, compared to 21.0% for the same period in 2021, showing a continued improvement in tourist inflows.
However, on a monthly basis, national occupancy rate stood at 52.9% in September 2022, compared to 61.3% in the prior month and 27.4% in September 2021, according to the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN).
Germany, Switzerland and Austria (43.2%) continued to supply more tourists who visited hospitality establishments nationwide followed by France (7.1%), South Africa (6.1%), UK and Ireland (4.8%) and Italy (3.7%).
“We certainly maintain our positive stance on the local tourism sector supporting economic activity in the short run. With the wide value chain in tourism, we believe positive spillover benefits will support the continued economic recovery underway in other sectors as well,” said Theo Klein, an economist with Simonis Storm.
Klein noted that Namibia’s recent decision to introduce a Nomad Visa regime that allows location-independent workers to live, work or study in a different country for a selected period of time would also be a beneficial marketing tool for local operators to attract foreign workers to Namibia.
He said this is because compared to other major cities across Africa, Windhoek is considered to have a much lower general cost of living.
“We view the Nomad Visa as a positive development not just for the local tourism sector, but also for complementary sectors such as retail, professional services (e.g. real estate, banking, foreign exchange, etc.), automotive (e.g. car rentals), telecommunications (e.g. internet services) and entertainment or cultural/recreation activities. Ideas of hosting foreign workers were certainly reignited after lockdowns in 2020 and we commend the government for being forward thinking and progressive in this regard,” said Klein.
Digital Nomad Visa allows workers to pay income tax in their own home country, without triggering domestic income taxes. Namibia offers Nomad Visas for a maximum stay of 6-months.
“Online applications can be done on the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board’s (NIPDB’s) website, with Namibia being competitively priced. Health insurance, bank statements showing a certain balance, police clearance and proof of being able to take care of your family (if applicable), Nomad Visas also have income requirements imposed on applicants. In terms of minimum incomes, Namibia ranks fairly well compared to a number of other countries,” explained Klein.
Meanwhile, HAN CEO Gitta Paetzold said sport tourism is being stifled by the lack of sufficient infrastructure in the country.
“There definitely is potential in sport tourism. Cycling has made great advances and we have been trying to lure other sports to Namibia. However, in terms of our infrastructure, there is a big challenge as no sports stadium in Namibia currently holds international approval, and significant investment is needed to address this. I believe however that the Ministry of Sports is currently looking into this, as it is keen to host both the Cricket World Cup and other major sporting events in Namibia in future” said Paetzold.
