Namibia's hospitality sector has achieved a landmark performance, reaching near-pre-pandemic occupancy levels of nearly 70% in August. This significant milestone is attributed to a surge in European safari tourists and domestic wedding celebrations. According to Simonis Storm Securities analyst Almandro Jansen, this performance surpasses the 69.05% recorded in August 2025 and is 2.35 percentage points above the August 2019 pre-pandemic benchmark of 67.18%.
The Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) chief executive, Gitta Paetzold, expressed satisfaction with the sector's performance. She noted that August 2026 performed exceptionally well in terms of room and bed occupancy, particularly in the high-end market. Paetzold attributed this success to the peak tourism season, which typically occurs in August, with European tourists, especially from France, Italy, and German-speaking central Europe, traveling during this time.
Jansen highlighted that the August performance was driven by safari peak season and wedding season. Internationally, August marks the height of Namibia's dry season safari calendar, with wildlife concentrations around Etosha National Park's waterholes peaking, attracting European visitors during their summer holidays. Domestically, August is traditionally a peak month for weddings and family celebrations in northern Namibia.
Regionally, northern Namibia delivered the strongest occupancy nationally at 76.28%, up 4.90 percentage points from 71.38% in August 2025. However, this is still below the exceptional 77.84% recorded in August 2019. The coastal region recorded 71.77%, the strongest August on record for the region, beating 70.16% in August 2025 and the August 2019 benchmark of 69.91%.
In contrast, the southern region posted 64.31%, down 5.20 percentage points from 69.51% in August 2025 and 9.59 percentage points below the August 2019 benchmark of 73.90%. Jansen attributed this decline to softer leisure demand at Sossusvlei and the Fish River Canyon relative to prior peak seasons, a trend worth monitoring into the remainder of the third quarter of 2026.
Leisure travel accounted for 95.17% of all August 2026 arrivals, up from 94.30% in August 2025 and 7.77 percentage points above the August 2019 share of 87.40%. This confirms that Namibia's accommodation base is more leisure-dependent today than at any point pre-pandemic. German-speaking central Europe remained the dominant source market at 32.22% of beds sold in August.
Despite the positive performance, Paetzold expressed concerns about bookings ahead, especially for the latter part of the year and next year. Namibian domestic travellers accounted for 13.30% of beds sold, up 2.31 percentage points from 10.99% in August 2025, but still 10.73 percentage points below the 24.03% domestic share recorded in August 2019.
Key points
- Namibia's hospitality sector reached 70% occupancy in August, driven by European safari tourists and domestic weddings.
- The sector's performance surpassed the 69.05% recorded in August 2025 and is 2.35 percentage points above the August 2019 pre-pandemic benchmark.
- Despite concerns about future bookings, the sector's current performance is a positive sign for Namibia's tourism industry.
