This policy shift appears to contradict Namibia Airports Company’s recently launched air access strategy, “Air Connect Namibia”, aimed at increasing international flights and connectivity. The implementation of stricter visa requirements could have a detrimental impact on various sectors of Namibia’s economy, including tourism, hospitality, transportation, and retail, all of which rely heavily on international visitors.

Evidence from across Africa, including success stories from Rwanda and Zambia, demonstrates that visa liberalisation significantly boosts tourism, foreign investment, and overall economic growth. A more open visa policy attracts a diverse range of visitors, including business travellers, investors, and tourists, who contribute to the economy through spending, job creation, and tax revenue. The Africa Visa Openness Index 2023 highlights that visa openness is crucial for Africa’s tourism industry, serving as a catalyst for economic growth.

“A restrictive visa regime can negatively impact the entire tourism value chain,” says Natalia Rosa, Project Lead for the SADC Business Council Tourism Alliance. “It hinders not only leisure travel but also business travel, conferences, events, education, and trade, thereby limiting overall economic growth and development.”

Several African countries, including those within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), are moving towards more liberal visa policies. Namibia risks falling behind its regional peers and losing its competitive edge as a tourist destination if it adopts a more restrictive approach.

“We urge the Namibian government to reconsider these restrictive measures and engage in dialogue with stakeholders to find solutions that balance security concerns with the need for economic growth and regional competitiveness,” adds Rosa. “Aligning visa policies with the air access strategy is essential to maximise the benefits of increased flight options and attract a larger influx of travellers. Namibia could look to successful examples like Rwanda, which has seen significant growth in its MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) tourism sector due to visa liberalisation and investment in infrastructure.”

One of the first countries to introduce a remote working visa recognising the demand post-COVID, Namibia’s visa regime U-turn is puzzling, particularly as SADC prepares to pilot its Univisa.

Instead of tightening visa restrictions, Namibia could explore alternative solutions such as implementing more efficient visa processing systems (e.g., e-visas), targeted visa waivers for specific groups, or enhanced security measures at borders.

“All barriers to entry for international visitors must be critically examined and addressed to encourage longer stays, increase spending in the economy, and accelerate the recovery of the tourism sector,” Rosa concludes.

The SADC Business Council Tourism Alliance remains committed to supporting Namibia’s tourism industry and advocating for policies that promote sustainable growth and development.

In a statement released by the government, the Presidency said that COVID-19 is not only a threat to the lives of the Namibian People and the public health system, but it also bears secondary negative economic impacts on businesses, including jobs and livelihoods.

1 Fairview Hotel (Kenya)

– 5 Courtyard Hotels (South Africa)

– 19 City Lodge Hotels (South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania, with Mozambique opening soon)

– 14 Town Lodges (South Africa, Kenya, Namibia and Botswana)

– 22 Road Lodges (South Africa)

The new app allows guests to:

– Make and manage their bookings within a matter of minutes

– Keep up-to-date with their CLHG rewards

– View amenities within each hotel

– View attractions in the area they are travelling to

– Manage their account

– Take advantage of specials

– Provide feedback on their stay

Divisional director of sales and marketing, Zuki Jantjies, explains, “Not sure which hotel to stay at? With this app you can view all of the hotels within our group, making booking your stay with us even easier. Not sure what to do while on your trip? We are all about variety – you can view all amenities of the hotel that you are staying at via the app so you know exactly what you can do within the hotel. This may mean hitting the gym at 5am before the day gets too busy. The app also provides an attraction section within the area of the hotel that you are looking at so that you can get the most out of your stay.”

She adds, “And if you want to show off your stay with us with a selfie or two, we’ve got you covered – you can post on your social media profiles via the app. Our social timelines are live and you can access our blog from the app as well. And let’s not forget about our monthly specials – when ‘notifications’ are on you’ll always be kept up to date with our specials, making sure you never miss out on other deals. With all this at your fingertips, making and managing your bookings will be a breeze from arrival to departure.”

A pilot study of the group’s CLHG Rewards members provided important feedback on its ease of use prior to public launch:

•  “User-friendly”
• “It simplifies my booking experience”
• “Uncluttered and easy to navigate”
•  “Love the design of it”

In future, the booking function will be expanded to include Corporate Club members, as well as the ability to request room specifications, order from the #Café restaurant and ask for a wake-up call. Watch this space!

Flights will operate three times a week on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays operated by an A319, offering a seat configuration of 16 Business Class and 96 Economy Class seats. The operation will transport passengers and cargo promoting intra-Africa trade and supporting the existing bilateral air service agreements.  

Wimpie van Vuuren, Air Namibia’s Acting Commercial General Manager said that the Windhoek to Luanda route was Air Namibia’s most profitable route from 1998 to 2015. “The situation changed when the Angolan economy weakened and passenger demand for air travel declined,” Van Vuuren said. He added: “To adapt to these economic changes, from 2016/17 Air Namibia reduced the number of flights from seven to six per week, then to five and by 2018/19 the number of flights was reduced to four per week.”  

After some market analysis, a decision was taken to temporarily suspend operations during the low season (June to September) to reduce losses of the airline.

“With the high season for this market looming and holidaymakers planning to visit our neighbouring country and vice versa, Air Namibia restructured the operation to meet the current demand with the resumption of this route. 

The additional morning flight will operate weekdays, Monday to Friday departing from Cape Town International Airport at 05h55 arriving at Windhoek – Hosea Kutako at 08h00.  The return flight will depart from Windhoek – Hosea Kutako at 08h50 arriving at Cape Town International at 10h55.  The service is operated by an Embraer 135 regional jet.

The re-introduction of the early morning flight is in response to customer requests and will allow travelers the freedom to choose from two flights per day offering added convenience and flexibility. The flight has been timed to maximize connection opportunities for guests travelling onward to destinations in Namibia by road and air to places such as Etosha National Park, Sossusvlei, Skeleton Coast, Damaraland amongst others. 

Etosha King Nehale, designed by Sven-Eric Staby, takes the shape of a head of Nguni cattle, the chalets radiating out from the central area like a cow’s horns. Each of the spacious chalets has its own plunge pool and views over the plains, where sunrises and sunsets, and the phases of the moon are accentuated, offering guests the exceptional feeling of endless space and limitless horizons.

The detail that puts this new lodge over the top, is its private access to a secluded waterhole inside Etosha National Park. This waterhole is reserved for Etosha King Nehale guests only.

The area is characterised by vast and spectacular landscapes including the Andoni Plains, artesian springs and woodlands. To the north, the conservancy is surrounded by the pulsating life of the communal areas of the Oshikoto, Oshana, Ohangwena and Omusati Regions. Guests have the opportunity to combine the cultural vibrancy of so-called Owamboland with the natural wonders of the rarely frequented northern part of the Etosha National Park.

As part of the agreement, Air Seychelles is placing its “HM” code on SAA daily services to the ‘land down under’, Australia. The national airline of Seychelles is also placing its code on SAA daily operations between Johannesburg and the capital city of exotic Namibia.

Charles Johnson, Chief Commercial Officer of Air Seychelles said: “This is yet another step in expanding the global reach of Air Seychelles.

“With an excellent partner like South African Airways, whom we have partnered with for over five years now, we stand to grow additional inbound tourism and business travellers to our beautiful shores.”

“We are very delighted to expand our codeshare agreement with Air Seychelles to Namibia and Australia.

“This enhanced codeshare agreement will strengthen our partnership with Air Seychelles and enable seamless travel options and experience for our mutual customers”, said Pumla Luhabe, Acting Chief Commercial Officer of South African Airways.

As a first step, Eurowings will offer flights from Frankfurt to the popular vacation islands Mauritius and Barbados when the winter flight schedule goes into effect in October 2019. In addition to this, there will also be flights to Windhoek in Namibia, with other destinations currently being planned. All flights will be available for booking as of 13 March 2019. For additional information, please visit lufthansa.com and eurowings.com online or contact the Lufthansa service center at +49 69 86 799 799 (rates to German landlines apply). Flights can also be booked through Lufthansa’s travel agency partners. Return flights to Windhoek, for instance, are available for as little as 599 euros including fees and taxes.

From the Munich hub, Eurowings has already been successfully offering long-haul connections to a selection of tourist destinations since Summer 2018. In the 2019/2020 winter schedule, Eurowings will also be connecting the Bavarian capital with Bangkok (Thailand). Connections from Munich to additional flight destinations are currently being planned.

This step goes hand in hand with a closer cooperation between Lufthansa and Eurowings at Germany’s biggest hub airport: “It is the right strategic step for the Group to combine the strengths of its two largest airlines in Frankfurt: going forward, we will be combining a product tailored to leisure travelers and families and the affordable cost structure of Eurowings with the sales and marketing power of Lufthansa at the Frankfurt location,” says Thorsten Dirks, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and CEO of Eurowings. “This makes it possible for the group to successfully evolve its portfolio for the growing tourism and leisure travel segment at Germany’s largest airport.”

For this expansion in the tourism segment, Eurowings will be using a total of seven Airbus A330 aircraft (with up to 310 seats), a portion of its fleet that is operated by Sun Express Deutschland. Capacities will be distributed evenly between the two Lufthansa hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.

The flight schedule will remain the same; the flight departs from Johannesburg ORTIA at 09h00 arriving at St Helena International Airport at 13h15 Local Time.  The return flight departs St Helena at 14h30 arriving at Johannesburg at 21h15 SA Time. The service is operated by an Embraer 190 E-jet. 

The return flight from St Helena will normally operate non-stop.  

Due to the flight duration and prevailing headwinds, an en-route technical fuel-stop is necessary. This refuelling stop currently takes place at Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako International Airport, which was initially chosen because of the possibility of connectivity.  

With Walvis Bay located at 300ft above sea-level with cooler meteorological conditions compared to Windhoek at 5600ft above sea level, Airlink will benefit by accommodating an additional 11 customers between Johannesburg and St Helena Island.  Currently the flight is restricted to 87 seats including 6 business class seats on departing from Windhoek due to high temperature and high airport elevation.

This year’s edition of Meetings Africa will take place from 25th to 27th February 2019 at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg. The event promises to build on last year’s “Shared Economies” theme with a specific focus on regionalisation as a continental strategy, and how this enhances the positioning and value offering for the business events industry in Africa.

This year, 338 exhibitors will be showcasing their services and products to potential buyers. This is 32 more than last year. It has been confirmed that 102 exhibitors from 15 African countries will join their South African counterparts. African countries that will be newly represented include Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania and Mauritius.

This year saw 721 hosted buyers applying for spots at Meetings Africa, with a whopping 462 from 65 countries accepted to attend surpassing last year’s total of 392.

Last year’s statistics showed that the majority of buyers (43%) thought Meetings Africa’s value lied in the quality of products on show. Other buyers thought Meetings Africa was valuable for the networking opportunities and the number of products and appointments.

Hosted buyers have been pre-selected and given focused time with their desired suppliers. The sessions allow the buyer to become more aware of what the suppliers have to offer.

This year, the bar has been raised and the quality is expected to be even better, in line with global technological innovative trends.

Buyers and exhibitors can also make connections on Business Opportunity Networking Day (BONDay) on 25 February. This special event will bring together an array of experts and renowned speakers. These speakers will be imparting knowledge on topics affecting the business events industry.

This increased interest from buyers is testament to the exponential growth of Africa’s meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry in recent years. International buyers are turning to the continent for new and innovative travel packages and they recognise that Meetings Africa is the best place to find them.

With South Africa being the entry point for doing business in Africa the South Africa National Conventions Bureau’s ultimate objective is to get more people to want to organize and attend business events in South Africa.