Hosea Kutako International Airport is the only port of entry open to international arrivals. Other ports of entry will remain closed due to coronavirus concerns.
NAMIBIA reopened its borders to international tourists under strict conditions on Tuesday as part of its efforts to revive its tourism industry.
Tourists are expected to arrive at Hosea Kutako International Airport with pre-booked flights and itineraries. They will have to proceed to their first destination where they have been booked and remain there for at least seven days before being allowed to visit other destinations in Namibia.
Hosea Kutako International Airport is the only port of entry open to international arrivals. Other ports of entry will remain closed due to coronavirus concerns.
Namibia has recorded 7 550 Covid-19 cases, with 75 deaths and 3 327 recoveries. Namibian President Hage Geingob on Friday extended the stage 3 coronavirus restrictions to September 12.
“Entry restrictions and quarantine measures are still firmly in place to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, but in Namibia some compromises have been made to ensure the revival of the local tourism industry,” Geingob said in his presidential address.
Although the airport opened on Tuesday, Namibia Airports Company has not received any airline schedules, reports The Namibian.
The airports company ‘s marketing officer Dan Kamati told the daily that airlines have expressed their willingness to resume flights.
According to The Namibian, Ethiopian Airlines plans to resume flights to Namibia from September 11.
State-run daily newspaper New Era reported three weeks ago that more than 1.6 million tourists visited Namibia in 2019.
Foreign tourist arrivals increased by 1.3% from 2018 to 2019 and tourist figures increased by 2.5% for the same period.
Visitors from Angola, South Africa, Zambia, Germany, France and the UK dominated the tourist arrivals to Namibia in 2019.
– African News Agency
