Nearly 50 000 passenger arrivals in July

This year’s tourism peak season continued to demonstrate a strong performance, with the total passenger arrivals in July reaching 49 534.

According to Simonis Storm’s hospitality statistics report, this is the highest figure recorded this year and the highest since October 2023, although it still falls short of 2019 levels, which totalled over 60 000.

Of the more than 49 000 passenger arrivals, 44% were international travellers, 45% regional visitors and the remaining 11% were domestic passengers, it said. “Notably, July marked the highest international arrivals of the year, while domestic arrivals were the second lowest on record for 2024.”

In contrast, the report noted that passenger departures declined last month, primarily due to a decrease in international departures as visitors returned to their home countries.



Lower participation

The national occupancy rate stood at 59.7% in July this year, a slight decrease from 60.8% in July 2023 and closely aligned with the 59.6% recorded in July 2019.

According to the report, the northern regions led with an occupancy rate of 62.8%, followed by the central areas at 60.8%, the coastal regions at 59.8% and the southern regions at 56.5%.

“It is important to note that the central and coastal regions have consistently shown lower participation in the hospitality statistics report. In July 2024, only three participants from the central areas contributed data, compared to 24 in July 2019,” Simonis Storm pointed out.

It added that leisure tourism remains the primary driver of tourist inflows, accounting for 91.7% of visitors staying in hospitality establishments across Namibia. The majority of these leisure tourists chose to explore the northern and southern regions.

In terms of accommodation, they predominantly opted for bed and breakfasts, hotels, lodges and tented camps.

There was a significant increase in visitors staying at hospitality establishments for business purposes, comprising 8.2% of visitors nationwide in July, up from 2.1% the previous month, indicating a return to pre-pandemic levels. Business travellers primarily favoured establishments in the central areas; however, occupancy for conference purposes remained subdued, the report said.



Europeans dominate

As usual, Europeans represented the largest share of visitors, accounting for 66.3%, followed by Namibians at 16.4%. The proportion of Namibians declined from 22.55% in June, likely due to the current period not being a holiday season in Namibia, which traditionally results in lower domestic travel during these months, Simonis Storm found.

Tourists from South Africa comprised 6.3% of the total, while visitors from North America contributed 5%. Asian travellers accounted for 2.7%, and the rest of Africa provided 1.7%. Other regions of the world contributed smaller shares, with South America at 0.6% and the Middle East at 0.3%.

It said a standout observation is the record high of 11.6% for Benelux (Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg) tourists, the highest in over five years.

According to the Hospitality Association of Namibia, July and August are traditionally peak travel months for the European Union. “Although there was a slight decline in visitors from France - likely due to the Olympics and other events - the Benelux market has filled this gap. This trend reflects the strong market presence of Benelux tourists, bolstered by targeted efforts from product providers catering to this demographic.”