The National occupancy rate for September declined to 52.9 % from 61.2% which was recorded for August 2022. This resulted in a monthly decline of 8.3%. (See figure 1 below). According to the Hospitality Association of Namibia, September’s national occupancy was slightly lower compared to that of the peak tourism month August the rate was still twice as high as in September 2021, which indicates that tourism recovery has doubled since 2021.
All in all, a very positive and encouraging result to see the Namibian tourism recovery advance to this level in this short time span and proof that most of Namibia’s source markets are back in full swing, Central Europe remains the strongest market with over 66% of tourists, of which over 35% stem from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, but the French and Italian markets were also prominent in both August and September.
The US market also seems to have recovered well, making up over 4% of the occupancy in September, almost double what it was in 2021.
The recovery of the tourism sector continues to be on the right track, this is reflected by the continuous positive national occupancy rates. The outlook for the sector remains positive due to positive trends reflected in international arrivals and the demand for accommodation services.
Figure 1: National Occupancy rates vs. HKIA arrivals, Namibia (September 2021- September 2022)
