Travel and tourism directly created 25 392 jobs in 2015, which is equivalent to 5.5% of the total employment. It is expected to rise 6.7% per annum to 48 000 jobs.

Environment and tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta says the tourism industry last year recorded one of its best results in over a decade with accommodation facilities recording nearly 60% occupancy rates across the country throughout the year.

Shifeta made the disclosure during his budget speech in parliament last week. According to the minister, the year 2016 will go down in history as one of the most successful and positive tourism years in Namibia and “the tourism industry remained a backbone of the country's economy even during the testing economic times that Namibia is facing.”

Citing some statistics, he said that in 2015 they revealed that the year saw more than 1. 5 million foreign visitors come to Namibia compared with 1.4 million visitors in 2014.

Shifeta said the increasing numbers of visitors and increased spending in Namibia were bound to influence employment within the tourism industry.

According to the latest report of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), tourism's direct contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) was N$4 billion in Namibia.

This is an increase of 5.3% from N$3.8 billion in 2014 while the total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP rose by 5.6% from N$18.4 billion in 2014 to N$19.5 billion in 2015.

Shifeta said the WTTC predicted a rise of 7.2% per annum which would be N$39.1 billion by 2025.

“Travel and tourism directly created 25 392 jobs in 2015 which is equivalent to 5.5% of the total employment. It is expected to rise to 6.7% per annum to 48 000 jobs which is 6.5% of total employment by 2025,” Shifeta said.

He added that this has resulted in the introduction of new airlines such as Qatar, KLM and Ethiopian Airline and the opening of new tourism markets.

However, the minister said similar to other industries in Namibia last year, the tourism sector also faced a number of challenges. Most tourism operators experienced the impact of the slowing economy on their businesses, particularly those who rely on government for conferences, seminars and workshops and activities that often provided consistent revenue streams.

“Another pertinent challenge is poaching and an increased level of crime at various farm lodges.”

Despite Namibia being the fourth most competitive travel and tourism nation in sub-Saharan Africa, it has dropped 12 positions, to the 82nd slot in the World Economic Forum's latest tourism index.

Namibia lost 12 positions this year partially from statistical adjustments such as the inclusion of previously unavailable deforestation figures, which had significantly reduced the sustainability performance for the tourism and logistics sector. According to the index, Namibia has lost a considerable portion of its forest since early 2000 and its water resources have deteriorated.

Similarly, the reassessment of car rental services and the diffusion of ATMs have resulted in a lower performance of Namibia's tourism service infrastructure. It further points out that Namibia still needs to improve its health and hygiene and under-appreciated cultural resources and renew focus on its inadequately qualified human resources which remain the main bottlenecks toward a faster development of the travel and tourism sector in the country.

Namibia's natural resources, its business environment, air transportation and price competitiveness sustain Namibia's competitiveness as the country slowly continues to increase international arrivals, according to the index.

ELLANIE SMIT