23/05/2025
'VISA ON ARRIVAL': TRAVEL INDUSTRY FEARS DAMAGE TO NAMIBIA'S IMAGE
"Three and a half hours to enter the country, and that's with an e-visa - what on earth was that?" grumbled a visibly annoyed tourist couple in the arrivals hall at Hosea Kutako International Airport. The two young holidaymakers landed on schedule at 1.20 pm. With the new 'Visa on Arrival', which is applied for and paid for online in advance. Now it is 5.00 pm. "It will be half past six by the time we get our hire car and can set off," they calculate. "Driving in the dark is too dangerous. So all we can do is cancel our first booked lodge and quickly look for a pension in Windhoek. This is already off to a good start..."
Their long wait at the immigration desk is not an isolated incident. "I now wait on average not one but three hours for my guests from when the plane lands," moaned one tour guide. Others agree with him. The reason is the new 'Visa on Arrival', which has been in force since 1 April 2025.
Many travel companies are raising the alarm. It is still a low season at the moment. They fear that waiting times at the airport will be even longer from the start of the high season at the end of June. The first impression is one of the most important, say marketing experts. The travel companies therefore, fear massive damage to Namibia's image. They are appealing to the Ministry of Home Affairs to honour its promise of a smooth arrival for tourists.
Declining booking figures are also a cause for concern. "We have 5 per cent fewer bookings for May and 8 per cent fewer bookings for June than in the same months a year ago," complains one accommodation group. Added to this are rising costs for the companies. Their employees have to assist customers with enquiries and problems. The waiting time of tour guides and shuttle drivers is also a cost factor.
The 'Visa on Arrival' itself is not new. However, new requirements have applied since 1 April 2025. And it's a new visa requirement for citizens from 33 countries who previously did not require a visa. This affects countries in Europe and the USA, which are among the leading markets for the Namibian travel industry.
The visa fee is 1,600 Namibian dollars. Children from six to twelve years old pay half, and children under six are free. The 'Visa on Arrival' can be applied for and paid for online in advance. There are problems with both the online application and entry. The result is additional work, higher costs for Namibian holidaymakers and travel companies, and long queues at immigration.
𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐚?
The Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) had already noted a slight decline in room occupancy in the first quarter of this year. According to CEO Gitta Paetzold, the average rate of 39.27 per cent was more than 4 per cent below the previous year's figure. For April, HAN statistics show a decline of more than 3 per cent.
However, it is unclear whether the decline is caused by the 'Visa on Arrival'. The government announced it a year ago in May, but only published the specific requirements at the beginning of March. Several requirements were changed before the introduction on 1 April. For example, there is a discount for children or a daily fee for cruise tourists (300 Namibian dollars). The ministry has also made amendments to the online application portal.
This will likely have unsettled direct bookers and partners in the travel industry in the source markets and may have cost one or two bookings. However, there are no reliable figures to prove this. On the other hand, a study from 2024 has confirmed what common sense suggests: visas act as a barrier to entry and curb travel. The higher the fees and requirements, the stronger the effect. The simpler the application, e.g. online, the weaker the effect. The study "The effect of visa types on international tourism" [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264999324001135] was based on figures from 2016 to 2021 in countries worldwide.
𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬
However, it is unlikely that the government will abolish the visa requirement. Officially, it is not about the expected annual revenue of more than 500 million Namibian dollars. Instead, it is about the affected countries treating Namibians in the same way as Namibia treats their citizens. Countries that grant Namibians visa-free entry will be removed from the visa requirement list. There are a total of 89 countries on this list.
Many in the tourism industry do consider it unfair that these countries do not reciprocate the visa exemption granted by Namibia. Namibians often have to overcome high and sometimes humiliating hurdles to obtain a visa. Schengen visa, for example: 90 euro fee (currently more than 1,800 Namibian dollars), bank statements for the past three months, itinerary and booking confirmations, letter of invitation if visiting friends, if necessary, with a guarantee. For some countries, you even have to travel to South Africa because they do not have an embassy in Namibia.
However, the expectation that the government of even one of these countries will change the entry regulations for Namibians, so that its own citizens can enter Namibia without a visa, is criticised by international policy experts as unrealistic, especially in the case of Europe, where most countries are bound by the mutual Schengen visa regulations.
Namibia may be shooting itself in the foot economically with the 'Visa on Arrival' without even standing a chance to achieve its political goal at all. Many also criticise the fact that the measure affects holidaymakers who have no influence on their government's decision on entry regulations for Namibians. And that the more than 100,000 Namibians who live directly or indirectly from tourism may have to foot the bill for the few thousand who can afford to travel abroad and would like to enjoy their holiday visa-free.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 '𝐭𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐭' 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐝
The calculation of additional revenue, which is not officially the issue but which supporters of the visa like to point to, could also turn out to be a naïve fallacy. Unfortunately, no current macro data on tourism is available: the most recent Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) report is from the coronavirus year 2022 and therefore not meaningful. However, the figures from the previous TSA report in 2015 provide a good indication.
At that time, tourism's direct and indirect contribution to the gross national product was 15 billion Namibian dollars. A decline of 4 per cent (as per HAN in the first quarter) would therefore result in an overall economic loss of 600 million Namibian dollars. As tourism grew from 2015 to 2019 and almost reached the 2019 occupancy again in 2024, the loss is likely to be significantly higher.
Namibia is not the only country that requires a visa for incoming holidaymakers. However, it is out on a limb in its reasoning. One tour operator said that they could not convey this 'tit for tat' reason to their customers. "Why not state, as other countries do, that the revenue is needed and used for nature conservation or infrastructure?" – However, that would be a lie. Because the fees are not channelled into a fund with a specific purpose, but into the general tax pot.
Nevertheless, some in the travel industry are hoping for a psychological effect. This would give the government a better impression of the importance of tourism for the country, they say. And by pointing to the revenue, it would be possible to make a more convincing case for a higher budget for the Ministry of Environment and Tourism or specifically for marketing Namibia as a holiday destination.
𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡
But how do Namibian holidaymakers feel about the new 'Visa on Arrival'? In a random survey at Hosea Kutako International Airport, six weeks after the introduction of the visa, newly arrived tourists mentioned several points of criticism.
These included the fee of 1,600 Namibian dollars. Quite steep. But even the flight and round trip are not cheap either, as was heard several times, so the cost doesn't make much difference.
The situation is probably different for families with older children, who must fork out a hefty amount of 4,800 Namibian dollars or more. "We have seen a 7 per cent drop in enquiries for family tours compared to the previous year," says a tour operator interviewed by telephone. Short trips and side trips to Namibia on multi-country tours are also likely to be affected. The option of a daily fee only applies to cruise tourists.
𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐬
Holidaymakers and travel companies mentioned the following problems when applying for a visa online:
• The fact that there is a 'Holiday Visa' in addition to the 'Visa on Arrival' is confusing.
• The "proof of financial means" is not clear (Ministry: presentation of booking confirmations and a credit card is sufficient).
• Entering booked accommodation with telephone numbers is tedious, and the field does not offer enough space (Ministry: only the first and last accommodation must be entered).
• From time to time, the website is offline and/or the payment process is interrupted.
• Accidental input errors cannot be corrected (Ministry: immigration officials overlook typos).
There were no complaints about the online application from holidaymakers who booked their trip through a tour operator. However, this was only because their tour operator had taken the trouble out of their hands, which means additional costs for them. One travel company stated that they had assigned an employee to deal with their customers' questions and problems with the visa, who spends a large part of his time on this.
𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲
The main criticism from holidaymakers and the travel industry concerns the entry process. Whereas passport control, baggage reclaim and customs used to take a maximum of one hour, it now takes two to three hours. Mind you: in the low season. With the start of the peak season at the end of June, the number of passengers per aircraft will increase and with it, the rush to the immigration counters.
Afternoons with the tightly timed arrival of Ethiopian Airlines, which seems to have recently started using larger aircraft, and flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town provide a foretaste. Last Thursday, some passengers were stuck for six hours, apparently due to a security incident.
The criticism in detail:
• Despite the e-visa, you have to fill out the application form again. This is not pointed out on the plane, and often the form is not handed out there. When filling in the form in the arrivals hall, there are no desks with pens.
• The font size on the A-5 form is tiny.
• The queues at the counters are not consistently separated into travellers with and without e-visas.
• Immigration officers need 5 to 10 minutes per person to process e-visas, and considerably longer for visa applications at the counter.
• On group tours, even those who get through immigration quickly have to wait for the group's last member.
• Searching for luggage is tedious because it no longer rotates on the conveyor belt but stands somewhere in the baggage claim area.
• The risk of a passenger mistakenly taking the wrong suitcase is all the greater the fewer passengers of the aircraft are at the conveyor belt, as the correct owner will usually intervene immediately.
• Travellers who land in the early afternoon are now often unable to reach the first stop on their round trip before nightfall. Self-drivers must either accept the increased driving risk or cancel their first overnight stay and look for accommodation near the airport or in Windhoek.
• With the waiting time of tour guides, shuttle service drivers and 'meet & greet' staff at the airport, the costs increase for additional working time and parking fees.
To this, you must add the waiting time for exchanging money and buying the SIM card. Self-drivers, now the leading tourist group, also have to pick up their rental car: another one to two hours to inspect and explain the vehicle. And all this after a night on the plane, during which one usually doesn't sleep well. A good start to a vacation looks different...
Entry by land seems to be going largely smoothly. However, when returning from a trip to a neighbouring country, such as a visit to Victoria Falls, one has to fill out an application form again, even though the 'Visa on Arrival' allows multiple entries within its 90-day validity period.
𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐲 𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠
The good news for everyone involved: The immigration authorities, in cooperation with the Namibian travel industry, are working to resolve the teething problems with the online application and immigration process. A number of meetings have taken place, said Müreal van Rooyen. The office manager of the Tour and Safari Association (TASA) has been looking after the 'Visa on Arrival' for months in the interest of the industry.
• The online portal is being optimised. An IT team within the ministry is responsible for this.
• In response to concerns about the security of the system with large amounts of sensitive tourist data: the head of the IT team is an expert in this field.
• The officials at the immigration counters have to work with three programmes: to enter entry data, check the e-visa and verify payment. This is to be simplified and speeded up.
• Travellers with e-visas should perhaps be able to present their printed visa instead of having to fill in the application form again.
• Ways are being sought to make the entry procedure at the airport more efficient.
Van Rooyen also points out improvements that have already been achieved. These include the fact that multiple entry is not only permitted within the first 30 days, but for the full 90 days of validity. In addition, the previous information sheet on the 'Visa on Arrival' has been revised in collaboration with the investor agency NIPDB and expanded to include a collection of FAQs. As soon as the Ministry approves the final draft, the orientation guide will be sent to the travel industry and made available to travellers on the Internet.
If all this succeeds in the coming weeks, the travel industry will be relieved. Because that would be just in time for the start of the peak travel season. However, the general concern that the 'Visa on Arrival' will have a dampening effect on the targeted growth of the travel industry in Namibia remains. Accommodation booked for the first stop on round trips could also be among the losers. For them, it would be no consolation that bookings are only being shifted to accommodation near the airport and in Windhoek.
