Jump to content

Tourism in Namibia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

the plains zebra, an example of Namibian wildlife
the Wolwedans Dunes Lodge, an example of lodges in the Namib (25°05′47″S 15°58′09″E / 25.0965°S 15.9693°E / -25.0965; 15.9693

Tourism in Namibia is a major industry, contributing N$7.2 billion ( equal to US$ 390 million ) to the country's gross domestic product. Annually, over one million travelers visit Namibia, with roughly one in three coming from South Africa, then Germany and finally the United Kingdom, Italy and France. The country is among the prime destinations in Africa and is known for ecotourism which features Namibia's extensive wildlife.[1]

In December 2010, Lonely Planet named Namibia 5th best tourist destination in the world in terms of value.[2]

History

[edit]

The first rough estimate took place in 1989, when it was predicted that 100,000 non-domestic tourists stayed in the country. This figure has risen over time to 1,176,000 visitors in 2014.[citation needed]

Employment

[edit]

In 1996, around 600 jobs were related directly to the country's tourism sector.[dubious – discuss] In 2008 it was estimated that 77,000 jobs directly or indirectly depend on Namibia's tourism, amounting to 18.2% of all formal jobs in Namibia.[3] Tourism in Namibia also has had a positive impact on resource conservation and rural development. Some 50 communal conservancies have been established across the country, covering 11.8 million hectares of land and resulting in enhanced land management[1] while providing tens of thousands of rural Namibians with much-needed income.[citation needed]

Rankings and evaluation

[edit]

Lonely Planet ranked Namibia fifth on a world-wide chart of value-for-money destinations in 2010.[4] In 2020, Namibia ranked 13th out of 30 of the world’s top 30 emerging travel destinations for 2020 by TravelLemming.com. During this awards. [5] The Etosha National Park, Fish River Canyon, Sossusvlei and the Namib-Naukluft National Park have been selected as Namibia’s top attractions.[5]

Tourist destinations

[edit]

Windhoek

[edit]
Windhoek skyline

Windhoek, the capital and biggest city, is the main entrance point for people flying into the country, usually at Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport. Important tourist sites in Windhoek include: the Tintenpalast, (which is the seat of both the National Council and the National Assembly), Windhoek Country Club Resort (opened in 1995 as host to the Miss Universe 1995 and is one of the premier hotels and golf tournaments in the country), Zoo Park and other places. Windhoek also has the first five star hotel in the country known as Hilton Windhoek (opened in 2011 marking Hilton's 50th hotel in the Middle East and Africa.)[6]

Walvis Bay

[edit]
Dunes near Walvis Bay

Walvis Bay, as the second biggest town in Namibia and the main port of the country. The town is served by the Walvis Bay International Airport. Geographically, the town is uniquely situated. It is the meeting place of extreme landscapes – on the one side the Namib desert, the oldest desert in the world, and on the other side a massive lagoon and harbour flowing from the Atlantic Ocean. Both of these landscapes lend themselves towards some of the most unusual sightseeing opportunities in Namibia.

The lagoon and harbour is home to various species and large numbers of sea mammals and bird life. The Namib desert on the other side is called "The Living Desert", because of the large number of living species found there.

Walvis Bay is a tourist hotspot that offers a number of activities. Water-related activities include shore angling, boat angling, shark angling, sightseeing and photographic boat cruises, sea kayaking, wind- and kite surfing. Every year Walvis Bay hosts one of the international legs of speed kite and windsurfing competitions.

Land activities include Sandwich Harbour sightseeing tours, desert sightseeing tours, 4X4 dune driving tours into the majestic dunes south of the Kuiseb river, dune hang gliding, dune boarding and dune skiing, guided educational, historic and anthropologic quad biking tours into the Kuiseb Delta, visits to the Topnaar people, descendants of the Khoin-Khoin, and living desert tours.

Swakopmund

[edit]
Swakopmund (2017)
22°40′51″S 014°31′17″E / 22.68083°S 14.52139°E / -22.68083; 14.52139

Swakopmund is a beach resort and an example of German colonial architecture. It was founded in 1892 as the main harbour for German South-West Africa. Attractions include spectacular sand dunes near Langstrand south of the Swakop River. The city is known for extreme sports. Nearby is a farm that offers camel rides to tourists and the Martin Luther steam locomotive, dating from 1896 and abandoned in the desert. The city is also known for its surf culture being located close to the famous Skeleton Coast

The Swakopmund Skydiving Club has operated from the Swakopmund Airport since 1974.

National Parks

[edit]
Entrance to Etosha National Park in March 2007

Namibia has many prominent National Parks, the oldest, most visited and best known is Etosha National Park. Other national parks in Namibia are:

*In November 2012, the Namibian government approved the renaming of the Sperrgebiet National Park to Tsau ǁKhaeb (Sperrgebiet) National Park. Tsau ǁKhaeb derives from the local Nama language and means "deep sandy soils".[7]

Kaokoveld

[edit]

Koakoveld (also known as 'Kaokoland'), remains one of the country's most pristine regions.[8] Puros Lodge and Okahirongo Elephant Lodge offer accommodation in an area regularly visited by desert elephants.[9]

Extreme Sports

[edit]

Namibia's harsh climate and arid conditions make the country a top spot for different extreme sport events like desert runs and ultra-triathlons.

One such event, the 2009 250 km RacingThePlanet: Namibia ultramarathon through the Fish River Canyon, across the Namib Desert, and along the Skeleton Coast to Lüderitz had 213 runners from 38 countries start the 7-day, 6-stage race and 167 finish.

The Namibia Tourism Board

[edit]

The Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) was established by an Act of Parliament: the Namibia Tourism Board Act, 2000 (Act 21 of 2000). Its primary objectives are to regulate the tourism industry and to market Namibia as a tourist destination. As a statutory body, the NTB is the only legal national tourism organization or authority in Namibia mandated by Government to regulate the industry.[10][11] The following sectors of business within or relating to the Namibian tourism industry are sectors that are regulated by the Namibia Tourism Board:[12]

  • Accommodation Establishments
  • Activity Operators
  • Air charter operators
  • Booking agents
  • Conference centre operators
  • Foreign tour operators
  • Shuttle and transport service operators
  • Tour facilitators
  • Tour and safari operators
  • Trophy hunting operators
  • Vehicle rental operators

Trade Associations

[edit]

There are a number of trade associations that represent the tourism sector in Namibia, they include the following:[13]

  1. Namibia Travel & Tourism Forum
  2. Federation of Namibia Tourism Associations (the umbrella body for all tourism associations in Namibia)[13]
  3. Hospitality Association of Namibia
  4. Association of Namibian Travel Agents
  5. Car Rental Association of Namibia
  6. Tour and Safari Association of Namibia

Statistics

[edit]
This section is transcluded from Visa policy of Namibia. (edit | history)

Most visitors arriving to Namibia and spending at least 1 night were from the following countries of nationality:[14]

Country 2023[15] 2022 [16] 2017[17] 2016[18] 2015[18] 2014[18]
 South Africa 349,728 116,897 325,968 342,044 351,864 312,153
 Angola 112,336 82,199 403,129 398,939 447,038 470,747
 Germany 79,989 62,691 123,022 122,142 90,729 86,121
 Zambia 56,243 25,041 195,289 190,457 147,754 125,889
 Botswana 56,157 19,761 52,021 50,665 45,049 36,724
 Zimbabwe 30,460 89,241 83,287 70,940 61,187
 United States 25,526 12,419 31,144 27,264 24,430 21,425
 United Kingdom 18,426 12,705 33,450 31,558 25,412 25,653
 France 16,002 17,503 31,758 23,484 20,189 19,577
 Netherlands 14,822 9,075 20,169 13,967 11,137
Total 863,872 461,027 1,499,442 1,469,258 1,387,773 1,320,062

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Hartman, Adam (30 September 2009). "Tourism in good shape - Minister". The Namibian.
  2. ^ Namibia gets top tourist accolade Archived 2010-12-25 at the Wayback Machine The Namibian, 22 December 2010
  3. ^ "A Framework/Model to Benchmark Tourism GDP in South Africa". Pan African Research & Investment Services. March 2010. p. 34.
  4. ^ Kisting, Denver (22 December 2010). "Namibia gets top tourist accolade". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 2010-12-25.
  5. ^ a b "'Namibia is the future of adventure tourism'- Namibia ranks among 2020's top travel destinations | Namibia Economist". Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  6. ^ "Hilton Windhoek Opens As Hilton Worldwide's 50th Hotel In The Middle East And Africa". May 27, 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-05-10.
  7. ^ "Sperrgebiet renamed to Tsau //Khaeb - Travel News Namibia". travelnewsnamibia.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-21. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  8. ^ "Kaokoveld (Kaokoland)". Archived from the original on 2019-04-25.
  9. ^ "My Namibia ™".
  10. ^ "Namibia Tourism Board | Namibia Information". businessdirectory.na. Archived from the original on 2014-04-01. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  11. ^ "Namibia Tourism Board". www.namibia-1on1.com. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  12. ^ "Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-12-27. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  13. ^ a b "FENATA | Federation of Namibian Tourism Association in Namibia". www.fenata.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  14. ^ Tourist Statistical Report 2016
  15. ^ "Tourist Statistical Report 2023" (PDF). Ministry of Environment and Tourism. Retrieved 25 March 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ "Tourist Statistical Report 2022" (PDF). Ministry of Environment and Tourism. Retrieved 25 March 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ "Tourist Statistical Report 2017" (PDF). Ministry of Environment and Tourism. Retrieved 25 March 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ a b c "Tourist Statistical Report 2016" (PDF). Ministry of Environment and Tourism. Retrieved 25 March 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  • Weaver, David, and Katharine Elliot. "Spatial Patterns and Problems in Contemporary Namibian Tourism." The Geographical Journal 162.2(1996): 205-217.
[edit]
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Namibia.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tourism_in_Namibia&oldid=1284614694"