5 000 jobs lost in tourism and related industries

ELLANIE SMIT



WINDHOEK

Close to 5 000 jobs have been lost in the travel, tourism, hospitality and catering sector due to the impact of Covid-19.

“This could be just the tip of an iceberg! These numbers could be more when one includes indirect industries that are supported, or benefits from the travel and tourism value chain,” said deputy minister of tourism, Heather Sibungo.

She was speaking at stakeholder consultations on the estimated half-billion-dollar tourism recovery plan.

The estimated budget for the draft Tourism Sector Recovery Plan 2022 to 2024 is N$520.5 million for the five strategic interventions and 14 programmes planned to get Namibia’s tourism back on track.

Among these interventions are to restore international tourism confidence, extend financial support to the businesses in the sector, build a strong Namibian brand using multiple advertising platforms, create synergy with key stakeholders in the industry and promote and digitise tourism investment opportunities.

Strategic interventions

The director of tourism in the environment and tourism ministry, Sebulon Chicalu, explained the strategic interventions in detail and said the recovery plan was essential to balance between the economy and livelihoods.

He said the interventions will be implemented simultaneously, considering the effects of the stop-start cycles that the sector will have to contend within the short- to medium-term as Covid-19 evolves, bringing with its possible new waves and strains.

“Policymakers and all stakeholders must act quickly and creatively to safeguard the immediate future of the tourism sector,” Chicalu said.

He pointed out that Namibia’s tourism sector and its business model are dependent on attracting tourists.

“The restricted movement and closure of borders due to Covid-19 have negatively impacted the country's tourism industry and economy. As a people-oriented industry, tourism is one of the hardest-hit economic sectors.”

The impact of Covid-19 on the tourism sector resulted in a decline of 89.4% in tourist arrivals from 2019 to 2020, while the industry came to a standstill and only saw a small revival in July 2021, he said.

During 2020, there was a drop of over 80% in hotel and other short-stay occupancy rates.

Companies in trouble

“Over 1 000 companies applied for financial assistance, while tourism companies also reduced salaries of employees, retrenched workers and, as a last resort, liquidated their businesses.”

He said more than 100 tourism businesses shut down temporarily or permanently.

According to him, it is estimated that over 1 000 direct tourism jobs may have been lost in 2021 and this figure may be much higher when indirect jobs are taken into account.

Micro, small and medium enterprises were also negatively impacted. On the upside, Chicalu said, the crisis presents opportunities to rearrange, reboot and rebuild for a more successful and sustainable future based on targeted interventions. He added that the Electronic Border Management System indicated a 37.8% increase in tourist arrivals in 2021, compared to the previous year.

Innovate

“The tourism industry needs to demonstrate resilience from several sides. We broadly propose that three segments, namely government, market players and local communities, need to get their act together to lend resilience to the industry.”

Sibungo said the tourism sector and related industries should come up with new initiatives, products, measures, campaigns to support the recovery process.

For example, domestic tourism is helping to mitigate the impact on jobs and businesses at some destinations.

“However, the country needs the intra-Africa and international tourism markets in order to return the gains of tourism sector equal or more to that of 2019.”

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