Travel bans, cancellations impact January occupancy
ELLANIE SMIT
WINDHOEK
In January, accommodation establishments in Namibia recorded an overall room occupancy of only 18.5%, which is almost 2% lower than in 2021, mainly due to cancellations in the sector when travel bans were imposed on southern Africa. In January 2021, room occupancy stood at 20.27%.
“The 18.5% of January this year is also still in stark contrast to January 2020, the last normal tourism month of that year, pre-Covid-19, that held a 37% occupancy, which means as yet, we are less than halfway where we used to be under normal circumstances,” CEO of the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN), Gitta Paetzold, said.
She added that while 2022 generally promises a light at the end of the dark Covid tunnel, January has revealed the negative impact the pandemic, and in particular the Omicron variant, has had on tourism in southern Africa.
According to her, many agree the low occupancy rates may be partly due to the large-scale cancellations the sector received in late November 2021, when Omicron caused most source markets to call a travel ban to southern Africa.
Furthermore, comparison of January 2022 and January 2021 rates also reveals that the occupancy percentage
of Namibians dropped by nearly 9% from 61.4% in 2021 to under 53% this year.
Paetzold said this is a clear sign that two years into the economic constraints due to the pandemic, financial hardships suffered by Namibians are limiting the scope of the domestic market.
“Due to the financial limitations and the small-scale potential of the domestic market, it is imperative that Namibia ensures that all systems are put in place to allow for a free and easy return of regional, continental and international travel to Namibia.”
Vaccination apathy hampering tourism
In January, the commercial tourism sector sent a letter of appeal to authorities to consider opening Namibia to all vaccinated travellers without the added constraint of a PCR test, Paetzold said.
“We strongly believe that providing benefits to vaccinated people would not only boost the vaccination campaign of our line ministry, but also entice the international travel community to choose Namibia as desirable and accessible tourism destination.”
She said currently, it would seem as if the tourism sector is being held captive by vaccination apathy in Namibia.
“This seems part of the reason why the authorities still see the need to impose what tourism perceives to be an obstacle for travel, namely demanding additional testing also from fully vaccinated people to protect the unvaccinated Namibian people,” she said.
[email protected]
WINDHOEK
In January, accommodation establishments in Namibia recorded an overall room occupancy of only 18.5%, which is almost 2% lower than in 2021, mainly due to cancellations in the sector when travel bans were imposed on southern Africa. In January 2021, room occupancy stood at 20.27%.
“The 18.5% of January this year is also still in stark contrast to January 2020, the last normal tourism month of that year, pre-Covid-19, that held a 37% occupancy, which means as yet, we are less than halfway where we used to be under normal circumstances,” CEO of the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN), Gitta Paetzold, said.
She added that while 2022 generally promises a light at the end of the dark Covid tunnel, January has revealed the negative impact the pandemic, and in particular the Omicron variant, has had on tourism in southern Africa.
According to her, many agree the low occupancy rates may be partly due to the large-scale cancellations the sector received in late November 2021, when Omicron caused most source markets to call a travel ban to southern Africa.
Furthermore, comparison of January 2022 and January 2021 rates also reveals that the occupancy percentage
of Namibians dropped by nearly 9% from 61.4% in 2021 to under 53% this year.
Paetzold said this is a clear sign that two years into the economic constraints due to the pandemic, financial hardships suffered by Namibians are limiting the scope of the domestic market.
“Due to the financial limitations and the small-scale potential of the domestic market, it is imperative that Namibia ensures that all systems are put in place to allow for a free and easy return of regional, continental and international travel to Namibia.”
Vaccination apathy hampering tourism
In January, the commercial tourism sector sent a letter of appeal to authorities to consider opening Namibia to all vaccinated travellers without the added constraint of a PCR test, Paetzold said.
“We strongly believe that providing benefits to vaccinated people would not only boost the vaccination campaign of our line ministry, but also entice the international travel community to choose Namibia as desirable and accessible tourism destination.”
She said currently, it would seem as if the tourism sector is being held captive by vaccination apathy in Namibia.
“This seems part of the reason why the authorities still see the need to impose what tourism perceives to be an obstacle for travel, namely demanding additional testing also from fully vaccinated people to protect the unvaccinated Namibian people,” she said.
[email protected]
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