Residents of !Gochas Village in Hardap Region have called for the government's intervention for business activity to resume at the !Gochas Business Park.
The Ministry of Industrialization and Trade constructed the million-dollar park in 2015 to enable villagers to tap into the tourism market in the region.
A few years down the line, the Business Park has been standing idle for almost a year after tenants closed shop at the park.
The Minister of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, has reminded African youth of their crucial role as true and reflective ambassadors of the continent's society and the tourism economy.
Shifeta emphasised that the youth have the power to shape perceptions, promote cultural diversity, and drive sustainable tourism development in Africa.
The Tourism Minister said this during the opening of the Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit and Challenge at Swakopmund, where about 38 countries from Africa are taking part either physically or virtually.
Quality customer care is vital for the survival of any tourism business.
It's against this background that the Namibia Wildlife Resort and the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) signed a cooperation agreement to improve the quality of service delivery and customer care services.
The agreement was signed in Windhoek.
At the signing, the Vice-Chancellor of NUST pointed out that improving service delivery for the tourism sector will go a long way in helping the sector recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Namibia and Sierra Leone have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen their bilateral and multilateral agreements, with a focus on cooperation in key areas such as agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, trade and investment, and marine resources.
This agreement has been seen as a significant milestone in the relationship between the two African nations.
Tourism is gradually recovering at the Naukluftpark, following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two years after the outbreak of COVID-19, lodge owners and tour operators are starting to receive more tourists at their establishments in the Sesriem area of the Namib Desert in the Hardap Region.
The Namibia Wildlife Resort, which is also responsible for supervising shuttle tours for five kilometers into Sossusvlei has seen a significant rise in the number of self-drives, adventure tourists and large group travellers.
Dune 7 in Walvis Bay has reopened to the public and will be operating from eight o'clock in the morning to seven o'clock in the evening every day. This follows after the Tourism Ministry with co-funding from the Game Product Trust Fund renovated facilities and gave it a facelift.
Social media has become a key driver of the tourism sector, as over 70% of bookings are currently done online.
This is after having to explore innovative and safe ways to stabilize the sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Namibia currently has over 100,000 online booking establishments.
Namibia Media Holdings CEO Albe Botha says booking online has allowed for easier cancellation policies.
This has however also posed a challenge for some establishments to plan, while those that do not have cancellation policies tend to lose out on customers.
The tourism sector has been urged to transform Walvis Bay into a world-class tourist destination.
The call was made by the Mayor, Trevino Forbes, during the Tourism Forum meeting, aimed at discussing issues affecting the Walvis Bay tourism sector.
Forbes said the tourism industry is the main source of employment in the town, as it brings hundreds of people each day for regular events including boat tours, excursions to Dune Seven, and visits to Sandwich Harbour.
