Namibia wants to attract over 1 Mio. foreign tourists in 2011

Namibia's Minister of Environment and Tourism, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told the media during her budget statement for the financial year 2011-12 that Namibia is expected to attract over one million international tourists in 2011. The tourists will, according to her, generate about N$5,5 billion for the tourism industry.
The direct contribution of travel and tourism to the gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to be N$3,8 billion in 2011 (about 4,7% of the GDP), while the total contribution of travel and tourism to the GDP is expected to be N$16,2 billion in 2011 (about 19,9% of the GDP).
The Minister furthermore said that the tourism industry is forecast to rise by 8,8%/year to N$37,9 billion by 2021 and that by the same year international tourist arrivals are forecast to be 1,7 million, representing an increase of 5,1%/year.

The reasons for her quite optimistic predictions are:

• Lonely Planet ranked Namibia number five in the Top 10 Best Value Destinations for 2011.
• The World Travel and Tourism Council’s Tourism for Tomorrow Awards nominated the Namibian Conservancy Sector among the top three for an award in the category Benefit-Sharing.
• The Namibia Conservancy Tourism Sector website has received a Platinum award from National Geographic magazine.
• The Namib-Naukluft National Park was ranked number one in the world’s ten Best Parks and Reserves’ category (?)
• Sossusvlei was ranked number ten in the Nature’s Most Spectacular Attractions’ category (?)
• Windhoek was ranked number one in the Best Cosmopolitan Africa category (?)

Good luck, Namibia!