The Bank of Namibia announced in February 2021 that the
industry has lost N$3.2 billion and that 70% of businesses in the travel sector
recorded bookings below 10% of normal bookings.
Tourism is an important industry in Namibia, generating
incomes and jobs for many people and earning the country foreign exchange but
the Covid-19 pandemic has devastated the industry.
"We are not near any form of new normality or
profitable levels for tourism as yet at all, and it will definitely take huge
and united national efforts to get Namibia's tourism sector back on its
feet," said Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) CEO Gitta Paetzold.
According to the April to June 2021 Institute of Public
Policy Research (IPPR) report on the tourism sector, encouraging news on
vaccines boosted hopes for recovery but challenges remain, with the sector
expected to remain in survival mode until well into 2021.
"Whether the industry can recover from such a
devastating blow will depend upon the success of major markets in staging a
recovery from Covid-19 as well as Namibia's ability to vaccinate its population
and the local industry's ability to successfully lure back foreign tourists
once this is done. The local industry can play an important role in promoting
vaccinations among staff and in the wider population," the report
suggests.
The report stated real recovery will only be possible when
international tourists return.
By the end of the third quarter of last year, 64% of
businesses reported a revenue loss of over 50%.
Hardest hit was the manufacturing sector, transport, tourism
(including restaurants and hotels) and the construction sector.
HAN said while Namibia seems to slowly be moving out of the
deepest and most challenging time of the Covid-19 pandemic to date, the tourism
and hospitality sector is far from recovery.
"The HAN has captured performance of our sector, the
commercial tourism accommodation over the past six months, and has to admit
that Namibia's tourism industry still has a long and hard road ahead to full
recovery," said Paetzold.
The second quarter of 2021 revealed a national average room
occupancy of just over 23%, compared to almost 54% in the year 2019, the last
normal year.
The second quarter of 2020 report shows April to June, being
the nearest to lockdown months (with travel bans in Namibia last year),
revealed an all-time low occupancy of barely 4.5%.
Paetzold, therefore said, "While we are definitely on
our way up, the road is long, and hope for a speedy recovery and positive high
season that would have started in July this year, smothered by the current
high-risk status imposed on Namibia in terms of international travel advisory".
Equally, she said, this negative status resulted in losses
of millions of dollars in potential business through cancellations of planned
travels to Namibia for the period July to September.
Namibia continues to hold the status of "high risk and
virus variant" status, which is a strong travel barrier at international
level.
Paetzold is hopeful and trusts that information on
decreasing Covid-19 numbers, increasing vaccinations and improved and
strengthened state at health facilities will send out positive messaging across
the globe and lead to Namibia being categorised as a low-risk destination.
"And hopefully soon a desirable travel destination - a
status that our tourism industry is working for and deserves to be able to
build back and create livelihoods and opportunities for all."
Tourism ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda also stressed
that in the time of Covid-19, everyone's collective focus should rather be on
fighting the pandemic and really come up with innovative ways to ensure
affected industries like tourism stay afloat to provide employment to support
livelihoods.
HAN and other tourism players believe the concerted and
joint efforts by all to rally behind the Namibian national vaccination campaign
is a perfect way to work towards unlocking the restrictions and limitations posed
by the virus.
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