…as Health ministry insist on 14 day quarantine
Andrew Kathindi
Government’s touted plan to revive the tourism industry could be dead in the water before it has gotten off the ground after it has emerged that its requirements may be too strict.
This comes after President Hage Geingob announced that part of Namibia’s stage 4 regulations, government will conduct a targeted International Tourism revival initiative between 15 July to 15 August 2020, in collaboration with the tourism sector.
Parts of the proposed measures include keeping tourists in a quarantine facility for two weeks at their own risk and cost, after compulsory testing for COVID-19, conditions which Health minister, Kalumbi Shangula maintains is not negotiable.
“The tourists will be treated just like anybody coming into the country. We will not allow anybody who is a carrier of the virus. Anybody who comes will just come like everyone else, whether a tourist or a Namibian returning to Namibia, they will be handled the same,” he told the Windhoek Observer.
He added that, “We are getting people from low risk countries and they must come with a certificate that shows they have been cleared of the virus. And then we test them, we quarantine them, test them again and only when we are satisfied that they are clear of the virus then they can be allowed to resume.”
The Namibia Tourism Board (NTB), which was mandated by government to research and make suggestions to government on the measures of allowing tourists back into the country, has been consulting stakeholders ahead of the 26 June, Friday deadline to submit its suggestions.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of (NTB), Digu //Naobeb told Windhoek Observer that as it stands, the measures will deter tourists from booking their holiday in Namibia.
“Right now, there are a number of issues that must still be sorted out. There is the issue that the tourists might not want to come because of the measures that are currently in place. When they come here, they must present their test results which must be negative and must have been issued within 72 hours. On top of this they must be put through mandatory testing and then quarantined for 14 days and test negative before they can go and explore the country. The UK are attempting something similar and we have seen now and it is not doing so well there,” he said.
Earlier this month, the UK allowed for some tourism activity with similar measures such as mandatory testing and a two-week quarantine period.
British Airways along with EasyJet and Ryanair however sued the British government over these measures, claiming that they “will have a devastating effect on British tourism and the wider economy and destroy thousands of jobs.”
Namibia’s tourism sector has been one of the hardest hit sectors by COVID-19, with the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta last month projecting that over N$20 billion could be lost by the end of the year.
“There is also the matter of security. After they have been quarantined and they have been cleared, do you then keep that security around them until they leave? I don’t think tourists would want that, to have that mandated security while on holiday so that is something else to consider.
“There is also on the airline’s side, will they want to schedule flights with only a few people on board. And besides that, since those who are coming must be quarantined when they arrive, it means airlines might have to send two crews, with the other departing after arrival,” said //Naobeb.
He noted that from the beginning, the NTB was looking at Germany and German speaking countries such as Switzerland and Austria because they have the highest arrival percentages to Namibia. Namibia also has a scheduled direct flight to Germany, if Air Namibia is allowed to fly internationally again.
“We are not considering other markets right now. It takes time to put agreements in place and logistics with Germany are already in place. If not then we may have to approach the Delegation of the European Union to Namibia,” he said.
Fears have however been raised over Germany, as the country which has 193,000 confirmed cases, has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks and parts of the country have gone back into lockdown as a result.
“What we are saying is that when they come, they must still adhere to all the regulations such as social distancing, wearing of masks and keeping clean hygiene,” //Naobeb said.
Shifeta said that government’s policy is to identify targeted source markets and also countries with which it can negotiate. The requirement being that the country must have similar pandemic protection protocols and measures as Namibia has.
“We need to make sure safety comes first. The measurements of those things will be taken into account,” the Tourism minister said.
