Namibia tourism 4th in sub-Sahara

Namibia's tourism sector has maintained its rating at fourth place in sub-Saharan Africa on the global Travel and Tourism Competiveness Index for 2019. Globally Namibia was ranked at number 81.The World Economic Forum releases the index every two years. In 2017 Namibia was ranked 82nd and in 2015 the country was rated 70th globally. Beating Namibia this year to take the top three regional places were Mauritius (54th globally), South Africa (61st globally) and Seychelles (62nd globally). Kenya was ranked fifth after Namibia and 82nd globally. The top global slot is occupied by France, followed by Spain and Germany.The report also contains detailed country profiles, benchmarking for the 140 economies featured in the study. It includes a comprehensive summary of their overall positions in the index and a guide to the most prominent travel and tourism advantages and disadvantages of each.Also included is an extensive selection of tables that cover each indicator used in the index's computation. For instance, Namibia was ranked 44th globally for its business environment, 103rd for safety and security, 114th for health and hygiene, 85th for its human resources and labour market, and 90th for its information and communication technology readiness. Namibia's prioritisation of the travel and tourism sector was ranked 65th, its international openness 98th, price competiveness 38th and environmental sustainability 68th. Namibia's air transport infrastructure was rated 67th, and for ground and port infrastructure, it was placed at 65th, while tourist service infrastructure was rated 52nd globally. But Namibia's natural resources were ranked 46th and cultural resources and business travel earned a 126nd position. The country's travel and tourism policy and enabling conditions is rated 66th.“While the region has improved since the 2017 edition of the report, sub-Saharan Africa ranks at the bottom of the TTCI, lagging behind the rest of the world across all pillars, with only Mauritius, South Africa and Seychelles scoring above the global average on the index,” says the report. It points out, though, that the region continues to outpace the global average in international tourism arrivals and receipts growth and the World Travel and Tourism Council forecasts Africa economies covered by this year's index to have the second highest rate of growth in Travel and Tourism GDP in the 10 years from 2019 to 2029. “As a result if the region manages to pick up the pace of improvement, investors will be more likely view the region as an attractive investment opportunity to diversify away from more mature markets.”The report states that travel and tourism (T&T) industry plays a vital role in the global economy and community. In 2018, the industry helped generate 10.4% of world GDP and a similar share of employment, and has shown enormous resilience over the last decade.ELLANIE SMIT

Namibia tourism 4th in sub-Sahara

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-02

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Namibia tourism 4th in sub-Sahara

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-02

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