Jacqueline W. Asheeke
TOURISM has been a winner for the Namibian economy over the last 20 years! The best way to get ahead in life is to always back a winner. GRN should continue to heed this advice!
Tourism will continue to bring home the bacon for our economy indefinitely, as long as we stay the course with smart conservation of our natural resources, investment in destination marketing and a legislative environment conducive to profitable tourism development.
Tourism has grown in arrivals from 254 978 in 1993 to 931 000 in 2008. Even with the current global crisis and various ups and downs over the years, demand for Namibia as a tourism destination among the boutique sections of the international travelling community is high. Namibia is the fourth fastest growing tourism destination in the world [out of 176 countries – World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)].
In 1993, the travel and tourism industry employed 20 000 people directly and indirectly. In that same year, Namibia welcomed nearly 255 000 tourists.
We have come a long way since then. According to the 2006 WTTC Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) report, the travel and tourism industry was projected to provide 74 000 direct and indirect jobs and N$7.1 billion in turnover to the Namibian economy.
The recent world decline in tourism did not hit Africa as hard as other regions of the world.
In fact, the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) stated that Africa was the only region where tourism grew in 2009 Tourism grew nearly 5% (though this is down from 10% growth in previous years.) Namibia will likely face a 2% to 5% decline in arrivals when 2009 arrivals statistics are finally calculated. This is reasonably good news for most in the industry, but not all.
Some larger and mainstream operators trumpet 2008 as a “boom” year. The full picture is a slightly different story. Statistically, 2008 was a flat year with less than .25% increase in arrivals over 2007. Considering the average 7% to 9% increases Namibian tourism has experienced since 2003, .25% increase is a huge drop-off. September to December of 2008 was a bust for many operators and smaller accommodation providers and indeed for Namibia’s economy. That bust led into the declines of 2009.
That meant tough going for a significant number of members of tourism associations. Many SMEs and new entrants into the sector faced tough times in 2009 and some did not make it through the storm. Some professional hunters and air charters also took a hit in 2009 as the premium European travellers were down by 12% and travellers from North America were down by 8% (NTB, ITB Marketing Briefings, 2010).
Over the last 20 years, tourism in Namibia has been private sector driven. Government’s role is to set the right climate for growth. Namibia is a small economy and must, to some extent, use GRN-backed economic tools such as donor assistance to the sector, Air Namibia, Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) and the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) as vehicles for stimulating tourism growth, investment, expansion and new product development.
But, the foundations of the world class tourism industry that exists today were built by the early private sector operators who blazed new trails and began showing Namibia’s natural magnificence to the world. In 1992, our then Ministry of Conservation, Wildlife and Tourism [now the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET)], led by its first Minister, the late Honourable Nico Bessinger, commissioned a landmark study for our new country (and promoted the founding of Fenata).
The Hoff and Overgaard study reviewed the entire tourism industry at Independence. Among other things, the study predicted the huge potential for job creation, inflow of hard currency, and increases in tourism arrivals in the future of Namibia. In that study, a tourism board, an independent company for managing GRN resorts and a national tourism policy were recommended.
These recommendations were implemented with the NTB Act (2000) and the NWR Act (1998) and the Tourism National Policy (1994, updated in 2008). Our tourism product in Namibia is our country. On top of our cultural attractions, stories, food, music, dances, history and people, we have major tourism icons to show the world: Etosha, Sossusvlei, the coast, Fish River canyon, and Twyfelfontein (now a World Heritage site).
These are the places seen by the tourists as they choose their holiday destination and this is what they come here to see. While Namibia is not a major “wildlife” destination compared to East African countries, our wildlife viewing opportunities along with our dunes, our coast, our vastness, our wide-open spaces and our cultural attractions, give the tourists a “whole package” for their holiday excitement.
FACT: Tourism in Namibia has grown over these 20 years to be a “must see” holiday spot in many niche markets around the world. It is important to note that the boom in wildlife numbers in Namibia over the past 20 years is largely due to the emergence of communal conservancies as well as successful wildlife management planning at MET.
The numbers of tourists visiting communal conservancies have boomed alongside the growth in wildlife numbers in recent years. Visitors to conservancies grew from 30 000 in 1999 to well over 100 000 in 2007.
The value of wildlife is based in the higher revenues from tourism/trophy hunting/game farming as more viable and sustainable land use options for these rural communities.
Over the last 20 years, Namibia has reigned supreme as the foremost country in the world for Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM). In 1996, the 1975 Nature Conservation Ordinance was amended and GRN officially opened the door for the creation of communal conservancies. Four conservancies were gazetted in 1998 and now there are at least 56 registered. Private sector tourism sees the opportunities for new product investment in communal conservancies.
In 2008 there were at least 19 joint venture agreements between private sector tour operators/ hunting operations and communal conservancies. This number will increase in the future. Going forward, Namibia should by the 2011 peak season expect to fully recover from the slight downwards impacts of 2009. In the near future, there will be new and innovative tourism products on offer inside communal conservancies, state concessions, national parks and state protected areas.
All will embrace eco-building strategies to make a small footprint in the pristine landscapes in which they are developing. The impending opening of the new Windhoek Hilton Hotel puts Namibia on the international map in new ways. Echoes of the proposed Sheraton Hotel development for Windhoek which was myopically declined nearly 20 years ago still reverberate.
The arrival of the Kempenski brand in Namibia also takes hospitality quality branding to a whole new level. Holiday travellers of 20 years ago are long gone; those choosing Namibia today have modern tastes and demand trusted, efficient services. With luck there will finally be an updated exit survey and TSA done by Directorate of Tourism and NTB in 2010.
This data is critically important. It will give a better statistical picture of why tourists have chosen Namibia. The last exit survey was done in 2002. The 2010 TSA up-date will likely be late as the statistics needed are not yet available from various GRN sources. The 2008 arrivals statistics did not come out from the Directorate of Tourism until now, in 2010. We can do better.
Without accurate statistics collected and analysed in a timely manner, we will be unable to capitalise on opportunities, identify possibilities, and beat the competition. The Transformation Charter, adopted by the tourism industry in 2004, indentified the commitment of the private sector to broadening the base of who benefits from tourism. But momentum for transformation in the tourism sector is lost.
Unless there is a workable, viable national BBEE framework to add “teeth” to voluntary accords, the BBEE in the tourism sector will remain slow. GRN must invest in marketing. NTB’s paltry budget from Government with which to market our country to hard currency markets around the world is not a serious commitment to destination marketing. Even with revenues generated from the tourism levy and registrations, the NTB budget is not enough for what GRN constantly asks them to do.
Namibia cannot attract tourists from new markets and keep growing existing strong markets without consistent investment in marketing. GRN investment in Air Namibia and NWR as tourism development tools has greatly benefited tourism growth in Namibia.
Without equal support for the NTB, the potential travellers out there, who would love a trip to our country, may never hear about the opportunity. Tourism will be the steady income generator for the Namibian economy now and into the future. Our private sector and GRN should feel proud of the past 20 years of tourism achievement.
