Namibia’s tourism industry is bracing for a slowdown over the next three years after a devastating wildfire tore through more than a third of Etosha National Park, the country’s largest game reserve, a senior government official confirmed, Reuters reported.
Established in 1907 during German colonial rule, Etosha is one of Namibia’s premier tourist destinations and home to iconic wildlife such as lions, elephants, leopards, giraffes, and zebras.
According to official estimates, the blaze damaged 38% of the park’s 20,000 square kilometers (7,722 square miles), though some unofficial assessments suggest the destruction may be even greater.
Satellite images revealed vast stretches of scorched land, and officials acknowledged that an unknown number of animals had been killed.
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“It’s a hit we’ve taken in terms of damage to both fauna and flora. Recovery is possible, but it will take a little bit of time,” said Sikongo Haihambo, executive director of Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.
He added that the economic impact would be temporary. “Insofar as tourism is concerned, I don’t think that we are going to have an extended dip but rather a recovery in a period of two to three years,” Haihambo said in an interview on Tuesday evening.
The setback comes just as Namibia’s tourism sector had begun to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A recent report by Simonis Storm Securities showed hotel occupancy in August reached 67.55%, the highest level since 2019.
In 2022, tourism contributed 6.9% to Namibia’s gross domestic product. The wildfire inside Etosha was finally extinguished on Monday night after the government deployed hundreds of soldiers to contain the flames, but firefighting teams continued to tackle blazes that spread beyond the park into the Omusati and Oshana regions.
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Image Credit: Nytimes
