Namibia’s tourism sector recorded 1,217,108 international tourist arrivals in 2025, representing a marginal 3.2 percent decline from the 1,257,093 arrivals recorded in 2024, according to the newly released Tourist Arrivals Statistics Report 2025 launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism last week.
While the decline may appear concerning at first glance, a deeper analysis of the data reveals a sector undergoing significant transformation, with African markets demonstrating remarkable resilience and new source markets emerging to reshape Namibia’s tourism landscape.
The African market, which accounts for 75.4 percent of total international tourist arrivals, actually grew by 1.7 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year, reaching 917,474 arrivals. This growth occurred despite notable declines from traditional powerhouse markets South Africa and Angola, which fell from 484,054 to 482,892 and from 151,444 to 131,294 respectively.
“This marginal decrease should be viewed as a wake-up call and a clear signal to all of us to renew our focus and improve our competitiveness as a country,” said Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism in her address at the launch event held in Windhoek.
Perhaps the most significant shift lies in visitor demographics. For the first time, tourists from African source markets predominantly travelled for holiday purposes rather than visiting friends and relatives, which has been the long-standing trend. This represents a fundamental shift in how Namibia’s neighbours perceive the country – evolving from a destination for family connections to a genuine holiday destination of choice.
The top five African source markets remained South Africa (482,892), Angola (131,294), Botswana (125,871), Zambia (87,638), and Zimbabwe (62,622). Zimbabwe recorded a particularly noteworthy surge, rising significantly from 37,478 arrivals in 2024 to 62,622 in 2025.
Europe, traditionally Namibia’s strongest overseas market, experienced the most pronounced decline with arrivals dropping by 21 percent to 299,634 in 2025. Germany, Namibia’s largest overseas source market, fell from 111,164 to 80,657 – a 27.4 percent decrease. However, this decline was partially offset by a remarkable 149.3 percent increase in Russian tourist arrivals, which now contributes 4.2 percent of European arrivals.
The American market showed a more nuanced picture. While overall arrivals from the Americas decreased by 7.5 percent to 57,216, the United States bucked the trend with an 8.4 percent increase from 28,686 in 2024 to 31,090 in 2025. The United States now accounts for 69.2 percent of tourist arrivals from the Americas, cementing its position as Namibia’s largest source market from that region.
EMERGING MARKETS AND DIVERSIFICATION
The report reveals a significant development in Namibia’s tourism diversification strategy. For the first time, China and the Russian Federation have entered the top ten overseas source markets, signalling a growing diversification of tourist arrivals. China recorded 9,657 arrivals, while Russia attracted 8,727 tourists to Namibia in 2025.
“Although the decline in most key source markets is concerning, the notable emergence of China and Russia as part of our top ten overseas markets demonstrates the potential for diversification,” the Executive Director of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism noted in her address. “This is encouraging as we have maintained air connectivity to China which also served as a conduit for Russian travellers.”
VISITOR DEMOGRAPHICS AND PREFERENCES
The gender distribution of tourists remained male-dominated at 64.1 percent compared to 35.9 percent female, consistent with historical patterns across both African and overseas markets.
Age demographics reveal that 62.1 percent of international tourist arrivals were aged 40 and above, with the 60 and above age group constituting the largest segment at 22.2 percent, followed closely by the 40-49 age group at 21.9 percent. European and American tourists were predominantly in the 60 and above category, while African tourists were more concentrated in the 40-49 age group, and Asian tourists were more prominent in the 30-39 age group.
Holiday travel remained the primary purpose of visit at 48.4 percent of total arrivals, followed by visiting friends and relatives at 28.6 percent, business at 18.5 percent, and other purposes at 4.5 percent. Notably, business tourists increased from 199,193 in 2024 to 225,447 in 2025.
NATIONAL PARKS PERFORMANCE
In a significant milestone, the 2025 report includes visitor arrival statistics to Namibia’s national parks for the first time. The data reveals that 994,780 visitors were recorded at national parks, comprising 816,730 international visitors and 178,050 local visitors – a 5.2 percent increase from the 943,408 visitors recorded in 2024.
Etosha National Park remained the most visited park with 387,663 visitors and 103,756 vehicles, followed by Namib-Naukluft National Park with 236,788 visitors and 63,894 vehicles, and Dorob National Park with 222,272 visitors and 52,135 vehicles.
The increase in national park visitation was primarily attributed to growth in local visitors from 163,224 in 2024 to 178,050 in 2025, and international visitors rising from 659,207 to 720,110. The report also notes a concerning decline in SADC visitors to national parks from 120,977 in 2024 to 96,620 in 2025.
TRANSPORTATION AND SEASONALITY
Road transport remained the dominant mode of entry at 77.9 percent, followed by air travel at 17.7 percent and water at 4.4 percent. Approximately 86.5 percent of African arrivals and 61.6 percent of European arrivals entered by road, while 51.8 percent of Asian tourists traveled by air.
The busiest points of entry were southern border posts accounting for 43.3 percent of tourist arrivals, followed by north-eastern border posts at 25.3 percent. Hosea Kutako International Airport and Walvis Bay International Airport accounted for 8.4 percent and 7.9 percent of total tourist arrivals respectively.
Airlink maintained its position as the leading airline for inbound air travel with 61.5 percent of air arrivals, followed by South African Airways at 9.0 percent and EuroWings Discover at 7.7 percent. Fly Namibia, the country’s only national airline, accounted for just 1.5 percent of air arrivals.
Average intended length of stay dropped slightly from 14 nights in 2024 to 13 nights in 2025, with 27.8 percent of tourists planning to stay between 4-7 nights and 26.7 percent staying between 8-14 nights.
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
In response to the observed declines, the Ministry announced that the National Spatial Tourism Masterplan has been developed, which includes strategic recommendations to strengthen institutional capacity and collaboration through the establishment of a permanent inter-institutional working group for tourism safety and security.
The Minister acknowledged the safety concerns that made headlines in international and local media during the year under review. “Safety concerns and incidents of crimes committed against our tourists are an issue of major concern that we simply cannot and should not tolerate,” she stated.
She also acknowledged that the implementation of reviewed visa requirements by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, while necessary, experienced “teething problems” that may have contributed to the decline in arrivals.
Tourism remains a crucial sector in Namibia’s economy, contributing significantly to GDP and employment creation, and the Sixth National Development Plan highlights the sector as one of the key economic pillars with potential to drive sustainable economic growth.
The report was compiled using definitions prescribed by UN Tourism and applied methodology and standards highlighted in the International Recommendations for Tourism Statistics 2008. Data was derived from arrival forms and monthly border statistics obtained from 30 official points of entry, comprising 18 border posts, 10 airports, and 2 seaports, processed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security.