IN an attempt to lift the Namibian tourism industry out of the doldrums, the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) has launched a campaign to attract tourists.
The campaign includes a 50 per cent discount offered by tour operators, tourism establishments and airlines from now until the end of July.
Shareen Thude, NTB's strategic executive for marketing, said yesterday that although June and July were usually Namibia's peak tourism season, there had been a sharp decline in tourist arrivals this year and something needed to be done.
Bank of Namibia (BoN) Governor Ipumbu Shiimi yesterday echoed this, saying that the country's European tourist arrivals had plummeted and that the Namibian economy was not scoring from the Fifa World Cup in South Africa.
Even though there had been a huge influx of South African tourists to Namibia during the World Cup, this would not compensate for the drop in European visitors, he said. The spending power of South African tourists was much lower than those of European tourists, the Governor said.
Thude said the campaign is "a tactical move so that business can continue". She said the campaign was being promoted at the Fifa World Cup in South Africa to catch the eyes of international visitors and South Africans alike.
She said although there had been great expectations that the Namibian tourism industry would benefit from the World Cup, this had not materialised due to several factors.
These included the global economic downturn, unfavourable exchange rates and the recent volcanic ash clouds that affected air traffic in Europe.
As a result, Thude said, there were a lot of cancellations by international visitors and even South Africa did not receive the 450 000 tourists they had anticipated.
The Namibian tourism sector refunded tourists who had cancelled their bookings, in an effort to encourage them to visit the country in the future, she said.
Thude said the NTB, together with the Namibia Football Association and the Ministry of Youth and Sport, had made preparations to bring some of the World Cup teams to Namibia for training before the tournament.
But the attack on the Togolese national team at the African Cup of Nations in Angola spoiled things.
"When that happened all the teams said no, they will fly straight to South Africa," said Thude.
Thude said the stagnation of the tourism sector had led to a number of workers being laid off while some establishments had to close.
The Director of Tourism in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Sem Shikongo, said the Ministry welcomed the campaign as it could help the industry to recover and could also encourage Namibians to travel inside their own country, due to affordable rates.
He said the Ministry was working on a tourism growth marketing strategy, which would include cultural tourism.
Air Namibia and Wilderness Safaris were among the first companies agreeing to participate in the 'Namibia: Open Season' campaign.
Air Namibia's 50 per cent discount will apply to its routes to Frankfurt, Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Other establishments and tour operators that have joined the campaign are Cape Cross Lodge, Heja Lodge, Leading Lodges, Namibia Tracks and Trails, Sense of Africa and Sefofane Air.
