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Namibian News
The Truth About Namibian Tourism Industry, Tourism Associations And The Cost To The Future Of Namibia
There has been a big debate online on what is really going on in the Namibian tourism industry in Namibia.
If you have not been following closely you should make everything quite obvious on how the N$26 Billion tourism industry has been cornered by a few for their own benefit, at the expense of the rest of Namibian companies and citizens.
From the 5,473 registered companies at Namibia Tourism Board, only a fraction are represented by the associations, who have long kept a close control over the industry, which has denied opportunities to emerging and upcoming Namibian companies and individuals.
ALLEGATIONS of ‘monopolistic capture’ of the tourism sector- pinned down by Covid- have surfaced with some of the Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations (FENATA)’s affiliates claiming exclusion from the representative body.
Key point in the letter is on the 2nd paragraph of the 2nd page:
"Also, the various companies, individuals and tourism entities that fall under the FENATA umbrella are responsible for an estimated 70% of the total tourism revenue in Namibia (in 2019 that was approx. 24,85 Billion N$ contribution towards Namibia’s GDP)."
What they are saying is that from the 5500+ Registered NTB companies, even though only 600 or so are on FENATA affiliated associations, they contributed N$24.85 Billion to the Namibian GDP. This is either completely made up, or it is showing how much of the funds are not really making into Namibia, by these top tier companies that form the associations. There needs to be an indepth audit of the companies that claim to have brought in billions.
Here is another article outlining the core issue amongst the industry, especially the associations:
The article outlines the blatant racism in some of the associations, especially the Tour Guides Association of Namibia, where only 40 White Namibian guides are members, and there are over 2,000 guides in Namibia, a sector that is in fact predominantly black Namibian. And one of the previous vice-chairman has the following to say about TAN:
"Faustin Akilanga, former vice chairperson of the organisation, has however said that there were incidents during his tenure where some white people refused to shake his hand."
Associations have also been solely responsible for the exit of Qatar Airways from Namibia, in favor of direct flights to Germany.
Over 3 decades, since Hospitality Association Of Namibia has been established, it has only a few members that have always been a part of it, while a lot of new members join and soon leave because they do not feel welcome. Having a same CEO since the inception, who has used her political influence to assist these few companies get the majority of the business that HAN facilitates.
HAN is not a registered entity at BIPA, and as an unofficial entity they still get donated millions over the years, which only assist the few in the small group of companies that assist each other. There is a close working syndicate amongst some of these members and associations, who have not only kept the information to themselves, they have also artificially kept the prices of the accommodations higher, to be able to generate more money, which negatively impacts Namibia as a tourist destination as it prevents a lot of tourists from coming in. HAN has not allowed any public entity or audit firm access to their information or accounts, to show where the money is spent or how the funds are generated.
HAN has been boasting about their political support and connections, to further their own agenda, and an entity that thrives on secrecy at the expense of the rest. Of the 130,000 Namibians in the tourism sector, directly and indirectly, there have been intentional efforts by some of the associations to block the flow of information and opportunities to the majority, to maintain their control over the industry happenings.
Any Namibian company or ministry that supports these exclusive clubs are directly supporting the oppression of the local emerging companies and MSMEs. Any funds donated to these associations would help any other tourism company a lot more than giving to groups that are still working on pre-independence mentality, by taking advantage of the Namibian youth, that needs more support now than ever.
All this is happening, while Namibia Tourism Board has been absolutely quiet on everything happening in the industry, and their latest 2019 audited financial statements show that they make N$45 Million in Levies, and pay almost 30 Million in salaries (23.5 Million in Salaries, 5.5 Million in 5 Key Management Costs and Board Fees), if you go through the report, a lot of expenses are focused on a few chosen countries, especially Germany which makes up only 0.98% of the world population, and there are many other unaccounted costs.
Do we really need NTB to do the marketing when they have completely failed as a regulatory authority as well? There is a reason why no establishment has shown correct figures to NTB since Covid19, because no one wants to pay levies on local bookings that do not generate any profits.
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