Namibian tourism statistics: The Rainmaker Hospitality & Tourism Marketing Academy

Source: , 07/08/2018

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TIP #6 | Namibian Tourism Statistics - Decrypted
Did you know that among the 1.57 million foreign arrivals to Namibia,
only one-sixth are relevant to tourism? Rainmaker has decrypted the
Namibian tourism statistics for you.
As usual, we have received astonishing tourism statistics from the
Ministry of Tourism last year. No question, tourism throughout
Southern Africa has grown significantly in 2016 (and yes that is the
latest tourism statistic from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism
released in December 2017).
This is largely due to the optimal exchange rate but, above all, to
the fact that many European and international destinations have more
or less failed due to terror and other events. Also, you have to
praise the good work of the Namibian Tourism Board in Frankfurt.
According to MET statistics, more than 1.46 million tourists (out of
the 1.57 million foreign travellers) travelled to Namibia in 2016. But
is this correct information relevant to tourism?
Let`s examine the number exactly. Of the approx. 1.47 million
tourists, about 399,000 were from Angola. Angolans have little to no
relevance to tourism. Angolans come to shop, to do business and get
medical treatment. Many of these travellers can also be classified as
VFR - Visiting Friends and Relatives.
About 342,000 travellers came from South Africa. We all know that many
South Africans come here to do business, but still tick ‘tourist’ on
the form. Another high proportion are campers who bring everything
they need in their trailer. Again, the influence on tourism businesses
such as lodges, guesthouses, etc. is limited. Among these travellers,
approximately 150,157 South Africans are also VFR - Visiting Friends
and Family. Now we still have to deduct the approx. 52,000 travellers
who come to Namibia explicitly for business reasons.
Similarly, for the same reasons as with Angola and South Africa, we
deduct Zambia (190,000), Zimbabwe (83,000) and Botswana (50,000).
Thus, of the total of about 1.47 million arrivals, only about 354,000
real tourists are left. Of these, about 50% come from Germany, the UK,
France and the US, followed by The Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy,
Portugal and Belgium.
Almost half of European tourists are over 50 years old, while Namibia
has lost many guests in the important 30-50 age group in recent years.
Calculating the average length of stay of about 19 days, this results
in about 6.7 million overnight stays per year. Spread over approx.
2,100 NTB-registered accommodations, this results in an annual average
total utilization of approx. 31%.
An occupancy that is alarming for every hotelier, because usually a
guest enterprise can only profitably be operated from approx. 60%
utilization.
That is why it is particularly important to address new target markets
and new market segments. It is also necessary to reduce the
seasonality in Namibia and to attract tourists all year round.
We have to make sure that all market participants, whether lodges,
B&Bs, car-rental companies, activity providers, but also tour
operators, optimally present themselves digitally and offer attractive
products for new target groups. It is not enough just to walk the
traditional paths. The industry must jointly develop new markets and
new target groups in order to remain competitive. Here, a special
focus on the young tourists is vital, but these days all of them are
online.
The new routes from Condor, KLM, Qatar and others open up incredible
opportunities for new attractive products for young people and should
ideally be incorporated in Namibian strategies.