Tourist arrivals for 2025 are said to have declined by 3.2%.
They declined from 1.257 million in 2024 to 1.217 million last year.
This was revealed in the Annual Tourist Statistical Report, launched in Windhoek today.
In 2025, Namibia recorded a total number of 1.345 million international arrivals, reflecting a slight decline of 6.9% compared to 2024.
As in previous years, international tourists made up the majority of international arrivals with a share of 90.5%, followed by same-day visitors with 8.5%, while returning residents and other visitors accounted for 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively.
The African market accounted for 75.4% of the total international arrivals, while the decline was experienced in the country's source markets, which are Germany, South Africa and France.
"The decrease can be traced to specific factors that transpired during the year under review. The safety concerns that made headlines in international and local print and social media, that is, incidents of crimes committed against our tourists, says MEFT Minister Indileni Daniel.
Daniel also noted that the tourism landscape remains dynamic, shaped by economic pressures, shifting traveller preferences and increased competition amongst destinations.
She therefore says the decline should be treated as a wake-up call and a clear signal to all Namibians to renew their focus and improve the country's competitiveness to remain relevant to international travellers.
"In this regard there is a need to invigorate demand in key and emerging source markets, enhance the overall visitor experience to encourage repeat travel, strengthen destination marketing with targeted data-driven campaigns, and invest in product development."
As part of its efforts to improve the sector, she says the ministry has also developed the National Spatial Tourism Masterplan, which recommends the need to strengthen institutional capacity and collaboration through the establishment of a permanent inter-institutional working group for tourism safety and security and crisis management.