High heritage site fees irk tour operators

Hefty price increases at Namibia’s heritage tourist attractions have sent the tourism industry into a frenzy.Tour operators say while tourists are expected to pay more, little to no improvements have reportedly been made at the sites to justify the new price tags. The new fees payable at heritage sites in the country for the 2024–2025 financial year were gazetted this month. The price increases will come into effect on 1 April, 2024.Lack of consultationsDelphine Ilunga, owner of Furaha Tours and Safaris in Namibia and chairperson of the Tour and Safari Association of Namibia (Tasa), said the tourism industry in general is upset and disappointed about the price increases, which in less than two years has been raised by more than 200%.He stressed that the increases were decided on without consulting the industry and without any improvements being made in service delivery at the sites.Ilunga said many tour operators have decided to completely remove these sites from their itineraries, which will result in a loss of income for people working there.No improvements Hans Soltau, a managing member at Exclusive Africa Tours and Safaris Namibia, told Namibian Sun that they were already upset with the first increases that were made last year for the 2022/2023 financial year.He claimed that for the past 30 years, nothing has been done at the heritage sites."And now all of a sudden, after Covid they tripled the prices, and now they even made it more expensive than before, but at the sites themselves, nothing changed."People do not even want to go there anymore. People do not go to Twyfelfontein. They would rather visit the sights up at Kamanjab. Lake Oshikoto, for instance, is a rundown spot. I do not know why you have to pay N$250 to go and view that."Soltau said the Namibia Heritage Council is responsible for the maintenance, repairs and upkeep of these sites and accused them of not doing anything to improve the tourist attractions."Tour operators are not going to these sites because it is just too expensive. I mean, even Etosha is less expensive, and at least you can see something is being done sometimes. But at the heritage sites, nothing is being done, and they just say, ‘well, they have not increased their rates for 15 or 20 years, or now it is necessary’.He said rate increases would be acceptable if service delivery was on par."If you see that offices are properly maintained, that they have properly trained guides, and that they have clean bathrooms – but you can go and check these facilities; they are nightmares."Prices not justifiedFrancois Visser from Levo Tours described the price increases as "out and out ridiculous", adding that the heritage sites are in poor condition."We are busy cutting out all these heritage sites from our itinerary, and the reason for this is because the money does not justify the product. If you take Twyfelfontein alone, you pay the new rates of N$270 per client to see the rock engravings, which take 45 minutes to walk through."If you look at Lake Otjikoto (N$250) and the Hoba Meteorite (N$250), which do not even keep you busy for ten minutes, it is not worth paying that kind of money."If you show a person Twyfelfontein, the Organ Pipes, Oshikoto, and the meteorite, you are looking at over N$1 000 per client just to show them some things quickly."Nathaly Ahrens, vice chair of Tasa, told Namibian Sun that the prices are just not in relation to the product being offered.Higher and higher The National Heritage Council of Namibia said they are not aware of any concerns or complaints after the revised price increases for the 2023–2024 financial year.They confirmed, however, that they have been made aware of maintenance issues at sites, which they are addressing as best they can with limited funding.Among the price increases for popular tourist attractions such as Twyfelfontein, it will now cost N$270 for an adult international visitor on a guided tour, compared to only N$100 during the period of April 2020 to March 2022.The new price for a guided tour to the Organ Pipes or the Burnt Mountain will be N$250 for adult international visitors, compared to the previous price of N$50 by the end of March.A tour to the Petrified Forest for international visitors will cost N$270, compared to N$100 previously, while a guided tour to Brandberg White Lady will also cost N$270, compared to N$100 previously.To go on a guided tour hike to the highest point in Namibia, the Konigstein in the Brandberg, will cost an international visitor N$2 400 per day, compared to the N$1 500 per day previously.

High heritage site fees irk tour operators

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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High heritage site fees irk tour operators

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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