The National occupancy rate for December 2022 stood at 37.9% a decline from the 45.8% recorded for November 2022. This translated into a monthly decline of 7.9%. (See figure 1). On an annual basis, national occupancy rates increased by 17.5%. This is an indication that the tourism sector is returning to normality (pre-pandemic levels), augmented by the growth in the domestic market that has shown significant improvements.
Accommodation specials and package initiatives by the Namibia Wildlife Resort (NWR) along with other companies have instilled the eagerness of Namibians to travel to local establishments boosting occupancy levels. These initiatives continue to stimulate domestic travel and this will contribute to the overall recovery of the tourism sector.
According to the Hospitality Association of Namibia, in 2022 Central Europe still constituted over half of Namibian tourism accommodation numbers, while nearly 9% of all guests in accommodation establishments were from South Africa and 2% from the rest of Africa.
Even in the face of diverse challenges including the economic situation and continued geopolitical uncertainty. The performance of the sector remains positive for 2023. This is due to continuous positive sentiments reflected in the national occupancy rates, which reflect a continuous high demand for accommodation services (See figure 2). We expect demand for domestic and international travel to remain strong and help drive the sector’s wider recovery.
Figure 1: National Occupancy rates (December 2021- December 2022)
Figure 2: National Occupancy rates, Namibia (2019-2022)
