Overall room revenue in South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius, Kenya and Tanzania rose 7.4% in 2018, up from the 1.9% increase in 2017, principally reflecting a 28 percentage point turnaround in Kenya, a 15.4 percentage point turnaround in Tanzania, as well as a 7.2 percentage point improvement in Nigeria. Mauritius continued to grow at double-digit rates in 2018 but room revenue growth in South Africa fell to only 0.5%.
The Namibian accommodation landscape is made up of approximately 3 100 hospitality businesses that are registered with the Namibia Tourism Board. These occupy a range of segments, including hotels, pensions, lodges, tented lodges, backpackers, B&Bs, campsites and guest farms. Of registered accommodation businesses, approximately 580 relate to hunting farms, which are considered to be a separate market segment.
The hospitality and tourism industry in Namibia contributed N$5.2 billion to the country’s GDP in 2017, 3.5% of total GDP. The industry also provided direct employment for 44 700.
(Main picture: Montecasino - Image courtesy of Tsogo Sun)
Image courtesy of Otjimbondona Lodge
Image courtesy of Strand Hotel
On average, the number of beds available for the year was 399 278. The number of beds sold varied between 43 998 in December and 180 537 in August, but averaged 143 514.
The occupancy rate ranged between 25.3% in February to 49.2% in October 20xx, with annual average occupancy of 35.94%. Occupancy figures from 2013 to 2017 suggest that there has been no growth in the Namibian Hospitality and Tourism industry, during this period.
Namibia ranks higher than all other Southern African countries besides South Africa for both safety and security and tourist service infrastructure. It is third behind Mauritius and South Africa among countries analysed in this report. Further improvements in these areas will help Namibia boost its tourism market, while greater efficiency in its tax regime could help improve the contribution of the sector to the economy