Namibia’s accommodation sector experienced a modest but concerning decline in 2025, with national room occupancy slipping below 52%, raising fresh concerns about access, affordability and the country’s competitiveness in a rapidly shifting regional tourism landscape.
The 2025 Annual Tourism Accommodation Occupancy Report, compiled by the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN), shows that average occupancy last year stood at 51.99%. This marks a drop of 2.5% from 2024’s 54.4%, and is also 1.5% below the 53.5% average recorded in 2019, the last full year before the Covid-19 pandemic.
CEO of HAN, Gitta Paetzold, said that this is based on the information received from their members across the country, representing a variety of accommodation categories such as hotels, bed and breakfast facilities and lodges.
Paetzold said that what is noticeable is the increase in the number of European tourists who made use of accommodation during December 2025, compared to 2019.
The German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) showed a light increase from 35.6% in 2024 to 35.8% in 2025, which is 6% higher than the 2019 occupancy rate of 29.83%.
While generally higher than the rest of the year, the percentage of Namibian guests at establishments in December also increased slightly to 31,6% in 2025 from 31.08% in 2025, but is down from 37% in 2019.
“Unfortunately, the report does not reflect the visible increase of visitors from our neighbouring countries over the Festive Season, who also frequented activity hubs and recreational offerings, and we can only assume that unlisted or unregistered accommodation facilities were used to provide accommodation for our visitors from across the border,” said Paetzold.
She said that the Namibian tourism industry seems cautiously optimistic about the prospects for 2026, with several challenges looming.
According to her, forward bookings are noticeably down compared to previous years, with ease of access, airlift availability and visa issues notably more challenging than in the past, and given as reasons for the slow stream of reservation confirmations for 2026.
“Namibia is also again being termed an expensive destination, not only due to the high airfares, but also the services offered on the ground, and as such, looming prospects of added levies and taxes on the tourism sector are seen as an added threat to the industry.”
Peatzold added that world political developments have seemingly affected the appetite for long-term travel planning.
“The global traveller is now hesitant to confirm bookings and make financial commitments through deposits far in advance of travel plans.”
She said that better record-keeping and registration of tourism service providers is essential to capture the full scale of tourism development in Namibia, with both the tourism ministry and the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) encouraged to ensure that everyone aligns with the national tourism spatial master plan.
“Namibia has a lot of positive going for itself, being rated as the most authentic tourism destination, and the focus on sustainable and conscious travel experiences adding to the positive image the country holds, but reports of increasing crime on tourists, and the recent concerns about re-aligning travel advisories for the destination due to access and visa issues as well as safety concerns are adding to the growing hesitancy to commit to the destination in terms of confirmed travel plans well in advance,” said Paetzold.
She said that as Namibia sees its neighbouring countries like Angola, Zambia and South Africa sending out strong signals of huge tourism development investment, with the Angolan government investing heavily in both tourism infrastructure and destination marketing, Namibia is well advised to focus on synergy and collaboration to address the current challenges of safety, positioning, pricing and promotion.
She said that this is to ensure that Namibia remains at the forefront when the global traveller decides on destinations to explore and experience in 2026.
Paetzold specifically pointed out to Angola, which is a partner country at the current biggest Travel Consumer Fair in Germany, the Caravan Motor and Tourism (CMT) Trade Fair, as well as the upcoming International Travel Trade Fair in Berlin (ITB) in March.
The 2025 Annual Tourism Accommodation Occupancy Report, compiled by the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN), shows that average occupancy last year stood at 51.99%. This marks a drop of 2.5% from 2024’s 54.4%, and is also 1.5% below the 53.5% average recorded in 2019, the last full year before the Covid-19 pandemic.
CEO of HAN, Gitta Paetzold, said that this is based on the information received from their members across the country, representing a variety of accommodation categories such as hotels, bed and breakfast facilities and lodges.
Paetzold said that what is noticeable is the increase in the number of European tourists who made use of accommodation during December 2025, compared to 2019.
The German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) showed a light increase from 35.6% in 2024 to 35.8% in 2025, which is 6% higher than the 2019 occupancy rate of 29.83%.
While generally higher than the rest of the year, the percentage of Namibian guests at establishments in December also increased slightly to 31,6% in 2025 from 31.08% in 2025, but is down from 37% in 2019.
“Unfortunately, the report does not reflect the visible increase of visitors from our neighbouring countries over the Festive Season, who also frequented activity hubs and recreational offerings, and we can only assume that unlisted or unregistered accommodation facilities were used to provide accommodation for our visitors from across the border,” said Paetzold.
She said that the Namibian tourism industry seems cautiously optimistic about the prospects for 2026, with several challenges looming.
According to her, forward bookings are noticeably down compared to previous years, with ease of access, airlift availability and visa issues notably more challenging than in the past, and given as reasons for the slow stream of reservation confirmations for 2026.
“Namibia is also again being termed an expensive destination, not only due to the high airfares, but also the services offered on the ground, and as such, looming prospects of added levies and taxes on the tourism sector are seen as an added threat to the industry.”
Peatzold added that world political developments have seemingly affected the appetite for long-term travel planning.
“The global traveller is now hesitant to confirm bookings and make financial commitments through deposits far in advance of travel plans.”
She said that better record-keeping and registration of tourism service providers is essential to capture the full scale of tourism development in Namibia, with both the tourism ministry and the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) encouraged to ensure that everyone aligns with the national tourism spatial master plan.
“Namibia has a lot of positive going for itself, being rated as the most authentic tourism destination, and the focus on sustainable and conscious travel experiences adding to the positive image the country holds, but reports of increasing crime on tourists, and the recent concerns about re-aligning travel advisories for the destination due to access and visa issues as well as safety concerns are adding to the growing hesitancy to commit to the destination in terms of confirmed travel plans well in advance,” said Paetzold.
She said that as Namibia sees its neighbouring countries like Angola, Zambia and South Africa sending out strong signals of huge tourism development investment, with the Angolan government investing heavily in both tourism infrastructure and destination marketing, Namibia is well advised to focus on synergy and collaboration to address the current challenges of safety, positioning, pricing and promotion.
She said that this is to ensure that Namibia remains at the forefront when the global traveller decides on destinations to explore and experience in 2026.
Paetzold specifically pointed out to Angola, which is a partner country at the current biggest Travel Consumer Fair in Germany, the Caravan Motor and Tourism (CMT) Trade Fair, as well as the upcoming International Travel Trade Fair in Berlin (ITB) in March.
