Tourism in Namibia

needed income.

3 Rankings and evaluation

Lonely Planet ranked Namibia fth on a world-wide chart
of value-for-money destinations in 2010.[4]

4 Tourist destinations
4.1 Windhoek
An example of Namibian wildlife, the Plains Zebra, which feature prominently

Tourism in Namibia is a major industry, contributing N$7.2 billion to the countrys gross domestic product. Annually, nearly one million travelers visit Namibia,
with roughly one in three coming from South Africa,
then Germany and nally the United Kingdom, Italy and
France. The country is among the prime destinations
in Africa and is known for ecotourism which features
Namibias extensive wildlife.[1]
In December 2010, Lonely Planet named Namibia 5th
best tourist destination in the world in terms of value.[2]
Windhoek skyline

History

Windhoek, the capital and biggest city, is the main entrance point for people ying into the country, usually at
Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport. Important tourist sites in Windhoek include: the Tintenpalast,
(which is the seat of both the National Council and
the National Assembly), Windhoek Country Club Resort
(opened in 1995 as host to the Miss Universe 1995 and
is one of the premier hotels and golf tournaments in the
country), Zoo Park and other places. Windhoek also has
the rst ve star hotel in the country known as Hilton
Windhoek (opened in 2011 marking Hiltons 50th hotel
in the Middle East and Africa.)[5]

The rst rough estimate took place in 1989, when it was

predicted that 100,000 non-domestic tourists stayed in
the country. This gure has consistently risen to the estimated one million visitors in 2006.

Employment

In 1996, around 600 jobs were related directly to the

countrys tourism sector. In 2008 it was estimated that
77,000 jobs directly or indirectly depend on Namibias
tourism, amounting to 18.2% of all formal jobs in
Namibia.[3] Tourism in Namibia also has had a positive
impact on resource conservation and rural development.
Some 50 communal conservancies have been established
across the country, covering 11.8 million hectares of land
and resulting in enhanced land management[1] while providing tens of thousands of rural Namibians with much

4.2 Walvis Bay

Walvis Bay, as the second biggest town in Namibia, is
host to the main port of the country, as well as the Walvis
Bay International Airport. Geographically the town is
uniquely situated, as it is the meeting place of extreme
landscapes on the one side the Namib desert, the oldest
1

Dunes at Walvis Bay

REFERENCES

Entrance to Etosha National Park in March 2007

4.4 National Parks

desert in the world, and on the other side a massive laNamibia has many prominent National Parks, the oldgoon and harbor owing from the Atlantic Ocean. Both
est, most visited and best known is Etosha National Park.
of these landscapes lend themselves towards some of the
Other national parks in Namibia are:
most unusual sight-seeing opportunities in Namibia.
The lagoon and harbour is home to various species and
large numbers of sea mammals and bird life. The Namib
desert on the other side is called The Living Desert,
because of the large number of living species found there.

Namib-Naukluft
Skeleton Coast
Ai-Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park with Fish
River Canyon and Ai-Ais Hot Springs

Walvis Bay is one of many tourism activity centers of

Namibia. Activities include various water-related ac Waterberg Plateau Park
tions, like shore angling, boat angling, shark angling, sight
seeing and photographic boat cruises, sea kayaking and In November 2012, the Namibian government approved
wind- and kite surng. Walvis Bay yearly houses one of the renaming of the Sperrgebiet National Park to Tsau
the international legs of speed kite and wind surng.
Khaeb (Sperrgebiet) National Park. Tsau Khaeb deLand activities include Sandwich Harbour sightseeing rives from the local Nama language and means deep
tours, desert sightseeing tours, 4X4 dune driving tours sandy soils.[6]
into the massive dunes south of the Kuiseb river, dune
hang gliding, dune boarding and dune skiing, guided educational, historic and anthropologic quad biking tours 4.5 Extreme Sports
into the Kuiseb Delta, visits to the Topnaar people, deNamibias harsh climate and arid conditions make the
scendants of the Khoin-Khoin, and living desert tours.
country a top spot for dierent extreme sport events like
desert runs and ultra-triathlons.

4.3

Swakopmund

Swakopmund is a beach resort and an example of German

colonial architecture. It was founded in 1892 as the main
harbour for German South-West Africa. Attractions include spectacular sand dunes near Langstrand south of
the Swakop River. The city is known for extreme sports.
Nearby lies a camel farm and the Martin Luther steam locomotive, dating from 1896 and abandoned in the desert.
The Desert Express, a TransNamib tourist train, runs between Windhoek and Swakopmund.
The Swakopmund Skydiving Club has operated from the
Swakopmund Airport since 1974.

One such event, the 2009 250 km RacingThePlanet:

Namibia ultramarathon through the Fish River Canyon,
across the Namib Desert, and along the Skeleton Coast
to Lderitz had 213 runners from 38 countries start the
7-day, 6-stage race and 167 nish.

5 See also
Visa policy of Namibia

6 References
[1] Hartman, Adam (30 September 2009). Tourism in good
shape - Minister. The Namibian.

[2] Namibia gets top tourist accolade The Namibian, 22 December 2010
[3] A Framework/Model to Benchmark Tourism GDP in
South Africa. Pan African Research & Investment Services. March 2010. p. 34.
[4] Kisting, Denver (22 December 2010). Namibia gets top
tourist accolade. The Namibian.
[5] Hilton worldwide
[6] http://travelnewsnamibia.com/news/
sperrgebiet-renamed-to-tsau-khaeb/#.UJthIo7AHe4

Weaver, David, and Katharine Elliot. Spatial

Patterns and Problems in Contemporary Namibian
Tourism. The Geographical Journal 162.2(1996):
205-217.

External links
Namibia Tourism Board
Namibia Travel website

8 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1

Text

Tourism in Namibia Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism%20in%20Namibia?oldid=631434871 Contributors: Longhair, Darwinek, SmackBot, Ohnoitsjamie, TastyPoutine, Namiba, Dr. Blofeld, Chtrede, Noodlenicky, Funandtrvl, Realnamib, Adam.J.W.C.,
JamesA, Squash Racket, Mild Bill Hiccup, Spy007au, Gatewayafrica, Pgallert, Good Olfactory, Addbot, Lacaille444, Kuiseb, Namibnat, DiverDave, AnomieBOT, LilHelpa, Zelfjehuisbouwen, Duncanogi, Thehelpfulbot, Suusion of Yellow, Quadtripplea, Luvrboy1,
BG19bot, PhnomPencil, Twofortnights, 1993JT and Anonymous: 10

8.2

Images

File:Dune_7_in_the_Namib_Desert.jpeg Source:
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Desert.jpeg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
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File:Flag_of_Namibia.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Flag_of_Namibia.svg License: Public domain
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Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
Tkgd2007
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File:Windhoek-Skyline.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Windhoek-Skyline.jpg License: CC BY-SA
2.5 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Bries

8.3

Content license

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