Europe drives Namibia tourism
Namibia’s tourism sector came close to a 70% national room occupancy rate in August, with continental European visitors accounting for almost two-thirds of beds sold during the country’s peak tourism season.
Room occupancy reached 69.5%, up from 69% in August 2025 and 2.35 percentage points above the 67% recorded in August 2019, according to the latest Hospitality Association of Namibia data analysed by Simonis Storm.
Simonis Storm described August 2026 as the strongest August in the post-pandemic dataset.
Europe drives peak-season demand
Leisure travel accounted for 95.17% of arrivals in August, compared with 94.3% a year earlier and 87.4% in August 2019.
Continental Europe has become increasingly important to Namibia’s tourism industry.
The DACH market, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, accounted for 32.2% of beds sold, while Italy contributed 13.4%, France 11% and Benelux 6.1%.
Together, the four markets accounted for 62.8% of beds sold, up from 51% in August 2019.
Italy has recorded the most significant increase, with its share rising from 7.7% in August 2019 to 13.4% this year.
France also increased its share, while the DACH market remained Namibia’s largest source market despite edging down from 32.5% in August 2025.
Domestic tourism still lags
The figures also highlight a persistent gap in domestic tourism.
Namibian travellers accounted for 13.3% of beds sold in August, up from 10.9% a year earlier but well below the 24.03% recorded in August 2019.
Simonis Storm said the gap could reflect weaker domestic leisure travel during the peak season, when accommodation prices and availability are less favourable for Namibian residents.
It also suggested that some domestic travellers could be using unlisted accommodation that is not captured in the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) survey.
Northern Namibia leads
The Northern Region recorded the highest occupancy in August at 76.2%, up from 71.3% a year earlier.
Peak safari demand around Etosha National Park and the Kunene corridor was complemented by the traditional August wedding and family-event season in northern Namibia.
The Coastal Region also recorded stronger performance, with occupancy rising to 71.7% from 70%.
The region was 1.86 percentage points above its August 2019 level, making August 2026 its strongest August on record.
South remains under pressure
Central Region occupancy fell to 54.8% from 61.2%.
Simonis Storm said the decline was largely influenced by an unusually strong business and conference calendar in August 2025. Business and conference travel accounted for 3.9% of Central Region beds sold this August, compared with 34.9% on a combined basis a year earlier.
The Southern Region remains the main area of weakness.
Occupancy fell to 64.3% from 69.5% in August 2025 and was 9.59 percentage points below the August 2019 level of 73.9%.
Unlike Central, the decline in the south was not accompanied by a significant change in business travel, which remained close to 1% of beds sold in both years.
Simonis Storm said the softer performance at destinations such as Sossusvlei and the Fish River Canyon should be monitored through the remainder of the third quarter.
Peak season shows mixed picture
The national occupancy result was recorded across 93 reporting properties, compared with 121 in August 2025 and 128 in August 2019.
Total beds sold fell to 102,749 from 126,216 a year earlier, reflecting the smaller reporting base.
National bed occupancy stood at 59.5%, almost unchanged from the 59.5% recorded in August 2019, but below the 61% recorded in August 2025.
