Namibia’s tourism sector has shown remarkable resilience and growth, buoyed by a diverse blend of regional and international visitors, Simonis Storm Securities has said.
Simonis said in a report that with a strong emphasis on holiday and leisure travel and a notable interest from older tourists, there are significant opportunities for targeted marketing and infrastructure improvements to enhance the visitor experience and continue this positive trend.
The report said given that a significant portion of Namibia’s top ten international tourists come from countries subject to new visa requirements, it is crucial for the industry and the Ministry of Tourism to proactively offer high-quality services.
This will help sustain and further stimulate growth within the sector. Furthermore, with the recent sharp rise in long-haul flight prices from Europe due to new climate levies and taxes, the Namibian tourism industry faces serious challenges in the coming months, according to the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN).
On international trends, Simonis said when looking cross-border, it observed a significant surge in transatlantic flights between the US and Europe, which can provide valuable insights for Namibia’s tourism industry.
The increase in flights and passenger numbers highlights key trends and strategies that could be beneficial for Namibia.
The data indicates a record-breaking 418 000 scheduled flights between the US and Europe from April to October, a 7% increase from the previous year. This rise is driven by strong demand from US travellers, supported by a stable dollar, making European destinations more affordable, the report said.
This trend underscored the importance of exchange rates in influencing travel decisions and suggests that favourable currency conditions could similarly boost tourism in Namibia.
Moreover, the post-pandemic surge in international travel reflects a pent-up desire to explore, with many
Americans eager to visit destinations like Italy, Spain, and France. This rebound in leisure travel, particularly in premium classes, compensates for the ongoing decline in corporate travel.
Notably, the capacity along transatlantic routes now exceeds pre-COVID levels, surpassing the figures from July 2019. United Airlines, for instance, scheduled over 722,000 seats in July 2024, a 3% increase from the previous year, while Air France boosted its seating capacity by over 15% to 279,000 seats.
This aggressive expansion, coupled with strong demand, has sustained high yields on these routes, presenting a ‘pricing opportunity’ for airlines.
Additionally, the emergence of low-cost carriers in the transatlantic market, though still a small fraction of the total, signals the importance of affordability in boosting travel demand. More than 7300 flights by low-cost carriers like Norse Atlantic and Canada’s Air Transat are scheduled between North America and Europe, accounting for about 5% of the market. – Simonis Storm Securities.
