There has been an increase of 87% in passenger vessels at the ports compared to the 2021/22 financial year.

When passenger liners dock at the Walvis Bay harbor, tour guide operators get excited as such vessels bring relief to tourism businesses that were affected during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Namibian Ports Authority has recorded a major increase in passenger's vessels in the 2022/23 financial year, surpassing the numbers recorded in the past four financial years.

In 2018/19, both the Walvis Bay and Lüderitz ports received 33 passenger vessels, and this number went up slightly to just under 40 vessels in the 2019/2020 financial year.

A total of 4 vessels were recorded in 2020/2021, while 7 arrived at both ports in 2021/22.

But the numbers jumped to 52 vessels in 2022/2023 after the COVID-19 travel restrictions were lifted, giving motivation to tourists to opt for cruise tourism as a preferred pastime.

Another contributing factor is that Namports added a dedicated passenger berth, which the manager for corporate communications has described as a game changer.

Unlike the current situation, Tana Pesat told nbc News that the infrastructure was not in existence in the past, and therefore passenger vessels could not stay more than one day at the port.

Pesat indicated that Namport and the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) attended a global maritime exhibition in Mauritius last year to promote cruise passenger tourism, and that move has paid off.

Tour guide operators like Erastus Wonzi have expressed appreciation for the role Namports' infrastructure plays in boosting tourist arrivals.

"We have the best port in Africa, and we have currently renovated and built a new container terminal that's able to host bigger ships and offload containers in Africa. If we have good infrastructure, if we have good roads, and if we have, like, the best port, most people will come to our country, and if the port is good, then bigger ships come in and more money comes into our country. So I'm happy that we have a big port, we have good infrastructure, and our business is growing."

The Queen Mary 2 passenger vessel, which brought more than 2,000 visitors to Namibian shores, was the latest to dock at the Walvis Bay port.