Rundu lodges fight for survival

Lodge owners in Rundu have said they are feeling the pinch of Covid-19 on their businesses.Travel bans, some border closures, event cancellations, zoom meetings, quarantine requirements, and the fear of the spread of Covid-19 have challenged their businesses tremendously, lodge owners told Nampa.Sarasungu Lodge owner Johan Craill said many of their rooms are standing empty and unused despite reductions in prices.“My business relied heavily on domestic tourism and with the current situation I am forced to reduce prices in order to attract the support of the local community,” he said.Craill said in order to stay afloat he is practicing extensive cost reduction methods and has approached the ministry of health and social services for his facilities to be used for isolation and quarantine purposes.Tambuti Lodge owner Elizabeth Hilger said the only time her business was fully booked since the start of the pandemic was in December last year.“These are trying times. I know of bigger businesses that used to charge N$5 000 for their most beautiful rooms and have reduced that to N$800,” she said.Hilger said she is merely maintaining her business to be able to pay for electricity and the few employees they have retained.‘NO LONGER ABOUT PROFIT’The chairperson of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) in Kavango East, Rachel Nathaniel Koch, said many local lodges, including the largest one - Ngandu Lodge - gave their facilities away at discounted prices for quarantine purposes.“It is no longer about making a profit. I foresee that many businesses will end up selling their establishments,” she said.A Third Quarter 2020 Gross Domestic Product report by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) indicates that the domestic economy slid into a deeper recession, recording a contraction of 10.5% compared to a decline of 2.1% recorded in 2019.“The poor performance of this quarter was observed across the major sectors of the economy with hotels and restaurants registering the worst performance as it declined by 54.9% in real value-added,” the report indicated. - Nampa

Rundu lodges fight for survival

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Republikein 2025-12-18

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Rundu lodges fight for survival

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