Namibia is experiencing record occupancies as it benefits from a favourable exchange rate.

At present, Namibia is riding the crest of the tourism wave, with interest in the country and occupancies noticeably up.

To quote one stakeholder, Leez Hövelman, Reservations Manager of the Gondwana Collection Namibia: “The bed occupancy for August reached a surprising 78.56%. This is a number we have never reached before. The numbers have increased by nearly 10% when comparing it with the August statistics of the past five years, and the coming months are looking very promising.”

Industry members believe demand is already exceeding supply at certain times of the year.  The high season now extends almost year-round and when international tourism slows down over the year-end festivities, domestic travel kicks in. With the start of new air services to Windhoek by Qatar Airways at the end of September and by KLM at the end of October, pressure on facilities may well increase, points out Derek Jacobs, director of Blue Crane Safaris.

A favourable exchange rate, reputation for safety, a lack of tropical diseases and improved cellphone and WiFi coverage have favoured the destination. Moreover, the country’s efforts to make its long distances as easy as possible for self-drive visitors has seen the FIT market expand. This includes a good road infrastructure and comprehensive signboarding.

Kira Brinkmann, Sales and Marketing Director of Sense of Africa based in Windhoek, says: “Historically Namibia was considered a group tour destination, where guests experienced Namibia’s main attractions by coach and were led by a guide. This trend has changed, especially with younger generation travellers who realise that travelling the country on their own in a hired vehicle is very easy.”

Car-rental companies, she points out, supply soft adventure SUVs, 4x4s for the more adventurous, and fully equipped campers. Recently most have introduced automatic vehicles for the American market, which is not used to manual vehicles.

Also noting a general increase for Namibia is Henk Graaff, MD of SW Africa Destination Management, who says particular demand by small groups wanting private charter of overland trucks or 4x4s with guides, has been experienced.

At a recent roadshow organised by the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) in Johannesburg and Cape Town, tour operators from Korea and Japan were in attendance. Cristina Cicognani, Area Manager Cape Town for the NTB, said the country appealed to visitors who had already visited Africa, and were curious to see more.  A visit to Namibia, she said, was about sun, space and spirit, which visitors from densely populated countries appreciated.

No longer was Namibia the exclusive territory of high-end travellers in pursuit of high adventure, she remarked. Facilities now catered for every type and variety – backpackers, families, fast-in-fast-out visitors, middle market holidaymakers and more.

Today’s average visitor to Namibia is not happy to sit in a vehicle the entire day, says Brinkmann. “Namibia’s rich cultural diversity, geological formations, uniquely adapted fauna and flora as well as high- and low-adrenalin regions fulfil tourists’ new need to meet and interact with the people such as the Himba, Damara or San, hike into unspoilt terrain such as the Naukluft, Fish River Canyon and even the Namib Desert, track desert elephant or desert rhino on foot or experience the oceanic life on a catamaran.”

One of the country’s challenges is that tourism is concentrated in four areas – at Windhoek in the centre of the country, at Etosha National Park and to a lesser extent the Caprivi in the north, and at Sossusvlei and other points in the Namib Desert to the south. There are still large, relatively untouched areas where tourists can fulfil a need to experience the unexplored. Brinkmann names the north-western Kaokoland, eastern Bushmanland, the Skeleton Coast as examples, and looks forward in the future, to the Sperrgebiet National Park, currently under development.

New and trending

• Since the opening of Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp in 2014, Wilderness Safaris’ Namibian business has grown in demand, with the camp acting as a drawcard for business to the region as a whole. Experiential travellers get to view a range of unique desert-adapted creatures, explore the Skeleton Coast, interact with the Himba people at Serra Cafema and spend time with Save the Rhino Trust, tracking rhino on foot at Desert Rhino Camp.
• The Gondwana Collection Namibia of 15 properties recently completed renovation of the 52-room Kalahari Anib Lodge near Mariental, and will commence refurbishment of the 55-room Damara Mopane Lodge in February next year. This lodge is near Khorixas, en-route to the famed Twyfelfontein rock engravings. A recent fire at Hakusembe River Lodge on the southern bank of the Okavango River, 16km west from Rundu, has not affected operations.
• Under new ownership and management, Camelthorn Kalahari Lodge on the Intu Afrika Kalahari Game Reserve, 250km from Windhoek, has been refurbished. There are two other lodges here – Suricate and Zebra Kalahari Lodges. Bushman walks and quadbike nature drives are two not-to-be-missed activities.
• NatureFriend Safaris, in combination with Classic Camps of Namibia, is offering two top-of-the-range fly-in safaris of seven nights each, the Namibian Visions and Namibian Treasures safaris. They are pilot-hosted and Cessna 210s are used for four passengers, with space of 15kg of soft luggage each. The lodges are all owner-operated and include facilities at Onguma Game Reserve, Okahirongo Lodges and Camps, Mowane Mountain Camp and Camp Kipwe, Damaraland, Wolwedans and the NamibRand Nature Reserve. The price tag is around R80 000pp; of course a guided or self-drive land safari will knock prices down. 
• Drifters is to add a 17-day Namibia accommodated tour to its programme next year, limited to 12 passengers per departure. Previously known as the Drifters Desert Lodge, the property next to the NamibRand Nature Reserve has been re-branded Greenfire Desert Lodge.
• Etosha Village, at the Andersson gate to Etosha and part of the Taleni Africa Group, has been converted from a tented camp to a 40-unit built structure. The Sossusvlei Lodge will undergo the same conversion in 2017. Work starts in January when the lodge will be closed, to reopen partially in February. When completed in June it will have 45 rooms and a conference centre for 90. An adventure centre here offers ballooning, helicopter flips and scenic flights. In August last year Taleni Africa took over Desert Quiver Camp, a 24-unit self-catering facility where guests can pre-order supplies and arrive to find their fridge stocked.
• Recent years have seen new developments on the western side of Etosha. They include Dolomite Camp with 20 accommodation units and Olifantsrus with 10 camping sites, both operated by Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR). The Galton Gate now enables visitors to entry/exit in the west, also making Damaraland and Kaokoland more accessible. NWR has also revamped the Popa Falls resort in the Zambezi region.