Stars aligning for Namibia's tourism sector

Namibia’s prominence as a tourism destination is set to rise, Valor Hospitality Group managing partner for Africa, Michael Pownall, has said.

Pownall made the remarks during the recently concluded Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF).

According to Pownall, Namibia has not been adequately marketed as a premier tourism destination and is therefore a sleeping giant on the tourism front.

“Namibia has been somewhat of a sleeping giant on the tourism front because it always had the right fundamentals, but it has been somewhat undiscovered in terms of the volumes it has been doing,” he said.



Growth

Namibia is well-positioned to attract increased tourism arrivals because of the convenience of its access via air travel, Pownall said.

“From my observation, in the last 10 years, Namibia has become one of the most talked-about destinations in the tourism world. The macro issues now of post-pandemic recovery, particularly of the airline routes, in terms of accessibility, Namibia is doing quite well,” Pownall said.

Namibia is also optimally geared to expand its tourism sector owing to expected investments in the oil and gas industries, with an influx of professionals expected over the years, he noted.

“Namibia’s stability as a country, compared to many, is increasingly beneficial; the oil and gas discoveries can only be a positive for the country but will also drive a lot of business visits, so the overall hotel future is at a very optimistic level."