Namibia recorded 1,257,093 tourist arrivals in 2024, a substantial recovery from the pandemic-era low of 169,565 arrivals in 2020. The latest figures also show a predominantly road-based visitor market, strong regional connections, and tourism activity with a measurable role in national output and employment.
Contents
- Arrivals and post-pandemic recovery
- Visitor mix, origin markets and entry points
- How tourists travel and why they visit
- Seasonality and intended length of stay
- Tourism spending by activity
- Tourism, GDP and employment
- Tourism supply and industry output
Arrivals and post-pandemic recovery
Namibia’s tourism arrival series shows both the scale of the pre-pandemic market and the pace of its subsequent recovery. The Tourist Statistical Report 2024 recorded 1,595,973 tourist arrivals in 2019, before the COVID-19 shock. Arrivals then fell to 169,565 in 2020 and rose to 232,756 in 2021.
The recovery became more pronounced in the following two years. Namibia recorded 461,027 tourist arrivals in 2022, followed by 863,872 in 2023. Arrivals increased 87.4% from 2022 to 2023. In 2024, the country recorded 1,257,093 tourist arrivals, an increase of 45.5% from 2023.
| Year | Tourist arrivals |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 1,595,973 |
| 2020 | 169,565 |
| 2021 | 232,756 |
| 2022 | 461,027 |
| 2023 | 863,872 |
| 2024 | 1,257,093 |
These are tourist-arrival figures, not a single undifferentiated count of everyone crossing the border. The 2024 report also recorded 1,444,174 total foreign arrivals, including tourists and other foreign-arrival categories. The report is based on immigration arrival forms and MEFT estimates, and it treats tourist arrivals, total foreign arrivals, same-day visitors, returning residents and other arrivals as distinct categories.
Visitor mix, origin markets and entry points
The composition of foreign arrivals helps explain why road travel is so important to Namibia’s tourism system. In 2024, same-day visitors accounted for 159,925 foreign arrivals, while returning residents accounted for 9,830. A further 17,326 foreign arrivals were classified as other arrivals in the Tourist Statistical Report 2024. These categories should not be added to the tourist total as though they represented the same type of visit.
Border geography also shaped the entry pattern. Southern border posts handled 41.3% of tourist entries in 2024, and North Eastern border posts handled another 25.5%. Hosea Kutako International Airport accounted for 8.9% of tourist entries. Together, these shares describe a market in which neighboring-country land access is central, while the main international airport remains an important but smaller entry channel by share.
South Africa was Namibia’s largest listed source market in 2024, supplying 484,054 tourists. Angola supplied 151,444 tourists, while Botswana supplied 123,276. Germany supplied 111,164 tourists, making it the leading listed European market in these figures. Zambia supplied 84,242 tourists, Zimbabwe supplied 37,478, and the United States supplied 28,686.
| Listed origin market | Tourists in 2024 |
|---|---|
| South Africa | 484,054 |
| Angola | 151,444 |
| Botswana | 123,276 |
| Germany | 111,164 |
| Zambia | 84,242 |
| Zimbabwe | 37,478 |
| United States | 28,686 |
The origin-market figures are useful for understanding the balance between regional and long-haul tourism. The report’s country counts identify the largest listed markets, but they do not by themselves describe every country represented among Namibia’s visitors.
How tourists travel and why they visit
Road travel was the dominant mode of arrival in 2024. It accounted for 77.6% of tourist arrivals, compared with 19.3% for air travel. Water travel, including sea and river travel, accounted for 3.1%. This travel-mode pattern is consistent with the prominent role of southern and northeastern border posts in the entry data.
The purpose-of-visit figures show that Namibia receives visitors for several different reasons. Holiday travel accounted for 47.5% of tourist arrivals in 2024. Visiting friends or relatives accounted for 31.1%, while business travel accounted for 15.8%. Transit represented 4.7%.
| Travel purpose | Share of tourist arrivals in 2024 |
|---|---|
| Holiday | 47.5% |
| Visiting friends or relatives | 31.1% |
| Business | 15.8% |
| Transit | 4.7% |
The categories indicate that leisure was the largest stated purpose, but it was not the only substantial part of the visitor market. The visiting-friends-or-relatives share was also sizeable, while business and transit added further demand beyond holiday travel. Because the shares come from separate report classifications, they are best read as a profile of reported purposes rather than as a forecast of future demand.
The gender distribution in the same 2024 report was 62.4% male tourists and 37.6% female tourists. This is a description of the reported arrival mix for that year, not a measure of the population of all travelers who may visit Namibia in other periods.
Seasonality and intended length of stay
Namibia’s 2024 arrivals were distributed across the year rather than concentrated in one four-month block. January through April accounted for 31.1% of tourist arrivals. May through August accounted for 34.8%, and September through December accounted for 34.1%.
| 2024 arrival period | Share of tourist arrivals |
|---|---|
| January–April | 31.1% |
| May–August | 34.8% |
| September–December | 34.1% |
The largest of these three periods was May through August, although the difference from September through December was small. The first four months represented a somewhat smaller share. These figures provide a broad seasonal view; they do not identify the precise monthly peaks or the reasons for changes within each period.
The average intended tourist stay was 14 days in 2024. Intended stay is a planning measure reported at arrival, so it should be distinguished from a later calculation based on completed departures. Together with the arrival-purpose data, it suggests that the 2024 visitor profile included trips planned over a meaningful period, while the report itself remains the authority for how the measure was defined.
Tourism spending by activity
The Namibia Investment Opportunities Catalogue 2024/25 reproduced 2022 tourism-spending estimates based on the Tourism Satellite Account. Estimated total tourism expenditure in Namibia was N$14,837,788,392 in 2022. The amounts are nominal Namibian dollars and are not forecasts.
Accommodation was the largest listed spending category by total expenditure, at N$3,602,370,470. Average visitor expenditure on accommodation was N$14,840. Shopping generated N$2,476,744,351 in total visitor expenditure, with average visitor expenditure of N$7,001. Road transport generated N$1,916,387,077, and average visitor expenditure on road transport was N$7,895.
Food and drinks generated N$1,385,662,346 in total visitor expenditure. These figures describe different activity totals and averages from the 2022 estimate, so the category totals should not be treated as a complete personal budget for a typical visitor or added to the average amounts.
Tourism, GDP and employment
The Namibia Tourism Satellite Account 2022 places tourism within a wider economic framework. Inbound tourism generated approximately N$12.4 billion in 2022, while domestic tourism generated approximately N$12.6 billion. Outbound visitor expenditure was estimated at approximately N$2.6 billion, and internal tourism consumption was estimated at approximately N$25.5 billion.
Gross value added of tourism industries was estimated at N$43.9 billion in 2022. Namibia’s total national GDP was N$206.2 billion. Tourism contributed N$14.3 billion directly to Namibia’s GDP in that year. These measures are not interchangeable: tourism consumption, tourism-industry gross value added and direct GDP contribution refer to different parts of the Tourism Satellite Account framework.
Tourism-related industries provided 57,571 direct jobs in 2022. Direct tourism employment represented 7.9% of total employment. The Tourism Satellite Account notes that its employment estimate is based on the Namibia Labour Force Survey 2018. Consequently, the employment figures describe the TSA reference framework rather than a 2024 headcount.
Tourism’s direct contribution to gross fixed capital formation was N$401.8 million in 2022. This is an investment-related measure, separate from the value of tourism output and from the number of people employed by tourism-related industries.
Tourism supply and industry output
Tourism-related products generated N$73,186 million of domestic output at basic prices in 2022, according to the Namibia Tourism Satellite Account 2022. The product breakdown shows how accommodation, transport, food services, recreation and intermediaries fit into the wider tourism supply.
Accommodation services for visitors generated N$14,028 million of output, equal to 19.2% of tourism-related product output. Transport services generated N$10,901 million, or 14.9%. Food and beverage-serving services generated N$4,580 million, equal to 6.3%.
Sports and recreational services generated N$3,011 million, or 4.1% of tourism-related product output. Transport equipment rental services generated N$1,107 million, or 1.5%. Travel agencies and other reservation services generated N$567 million, or 0.8%.
| Tourism-related product | 2022 output | Share of tourism-related product output |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation services for visitors | N$14,028 million | 19.2% |
| Transport services | N$10,901 million | 14.9% |
| Food and beverage-serving services | N$4,580 million | 6.3% |
| Sports and recreational services | N$3,011 million | 4.1% |
| Transport equipment rental services | N$1,107 million | 1.5% |
| Travel agencies and other reservation services | N$567 million | 0.8% |
The output figures are measured at basic prices and belong to the 2022 Tourism Satellite Account reference year. They therefore complement, rather than replace, the newer 2024 arrival statistics. Read together, the sources show a tourism sector recovering strongly in visitor volume while also spanning accommodation, transport, food, recreation, rental services and reservations.