If you're planning a self-drive holiday through Namibia, a safari in Namibia or an epic road trip through southern Africa, the country's newly released Tourist Arrivals Statistical Report 2025 offers valuable insights into who is visiting, when they travel and how to plan your own adventure.
While international visitor numbers dipped slightly compared to 2024, Namibia remains one of Africa's premier travel destinations. Even better for travellers, slightly lower visitor numbers mean many of the country's iconic attractions may feel a little less crowded than during the post-pandemic tourism boom.
Here's what the latest figures reveal—and what they mean for anyone planning a trip to Namibia.
International arrivals decline slightly
Namibia welcomed 1,345,168 international visitor arrivals in 2025, of which 90.5% were tourists, 8.5% were same-day visitors, 0.7% returning residents and 0.3% other categories. This represented a decline of about 6.9% compared to 1,444,174 arrivals in 2024. International tourist arrivals also declined by 3.2%, from 1,257,093 in 2024 to 1,217,108 in 2025.
For visitors, the figures suggest that Namibia continues to attract healthy numbers without becoming overcrowded—a welcome balance for those seeking wide open landscapes, spectacular wildlife and unforgettable road trips.
South Africa remains the biggest market
Most visitors continue to come from neighbouring African countries, which accounted for more than three-quarters of all international tourist arrivals.
The ten largest source markets were:
- South Africa
- Angola
- Botswana
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
- Germany
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Netherlands
- France
Germany remained Namibia's largest overseas market (35.6% of tourist arrivals from Europe) despite recording fewer arrivals than in 2024. Meanwhile, the United States (increased by 8.4%) continued its steady growth, while China and Russia (increase of 149.3% compared to 2024, contributing 4.2% of tourist arrivals from Europe) emerged among Namibia's leading overseas source markets, highlighting the country's increasingly diverse international appeal.
Holidaymakers now dominate African travel
One of the report's most notable findings is that, for the first time, most visitors from Africa travelled to Namibia for holidays rather than to visit friends and relatives.
Holiday travel accounted for 48.4% of all international tourist arrivals, while business travel also continued to grow, representing 18.5% of all visitors.
This reflects Namibia's growing reputation as a world-class leisure destination offering everything from spectacular desert scenery and exceptional wildlife viewing to luxury lodges and unforgettable self-drive adventures.
Visitors spend around two weeks in Namibia
International tourists spent an average of 13 nights in Namibia during 2025.
European tourists tended to stay longer, mainly within the 8–14 nights range, making the most of classic self-drive itineraries covering destinations such as Etosha National Park, Sossusvlei, Swakopmund, Damaraland and the Skeleton Coast.
Travellers from neighbouring African countries concentrated in the 4–7 nights category, while visitors from the Americas often visited Namibia as part of a broader southern African itinerary for just for 2–3 nights.
Who is visiting Namibia?
The latest tourism statistics reveal that Namibia's international visitors tend to be experienced, mature travellers. Almost two-thirds (62.1%) of all international tourists were aged 40 and older in 2025, with the largest single age group being travellers aged 60 and above (22.2%), followed by those aged 40–49 (21.9%) and 30–39 (20.3%).
The report also found that 64.1% of international visitors were male, compared with 35.9% female.
For prospective visitors, this reflects Namibia's strong appeal among well-travelled nature lovers, wildlife enthusiasts and self-drive adventurers. At the same time, it highlights an opportunity for younger travellers, with Namibia offering everything from adrenaline-filled adventure activities and camping to luxury lodges, hiking trails and world-class landscape photography.
Self-drive holidays remain king
Namibia continues to be one of the world's great road trip destinations.
Nearly 77.9% of all international visitors entered the country by road, underlining the popularity of self-drive holidays. Air travel accounted for almost 17.7% of arrivals and water for 4.4%.
Among airlines, Airlink remained the largest carrier into Namibia with 61.5% of air arrivals, followed by South African Airways with 9.0%, while Discover brought in 7.7%.
For many international travellers, flying into Windhoek via Johannesburg continues to offer the widest range of convenient connections before collecting a rental vehicle and exploring the country independently.
When is the best time to visit Namibia?
The report confirms what many experienced travellers already know: Namibia's busiest tourism season runs from May to August, with with additional peaks in December.
For national parks specifically, the dry winter months of July, August and September have the highest arrivals, with August recording the highest. Those seeking quieter conditions might consider the shoulder months of April–May or October–November.
Travellers looking for fewer crowds should consider the excellent shoulder seasons of April and May or October and November, when weather conditions remain favourable while visitor numbers are generally lower.
German travellers in particular tend to arrive in March, May and October; Americans peak in February, April and June — useful intelligence for anyone planning group or lodge bookings.
Etosha remains Namibia's most popular national park
Namibia's national parks welcomed almost 995,000 visitors during 2025—an increase over the previous year (943,408 in 2024) despite the overall decline in international arrivals.
The top three parks by visitor numbers were:
Etosha National Park with 387,663 visitors, Namib-Naukluft National Park with 296,788 and Dorob National Park with 222,272.
At the other end of the scale, Tsau //Khaeb (Sperrgebiet) and Mangetti National Parks registered the least number of vehicles — 195 and 99 respectively — highlighting their more limited visitor reach. These would be worth exploring for travellers seeking genuine off-the-beaten-path experiences.
What the statistics mean for your Namibia trip
The latest tourism figures paint an encouraging picture for travellers.
Although international arrivals softened slightly during 2025, Namibia remains one of Africa's safest, easiest and most rewarding countries for independent travel. The combination of excellent roads, spectacular scenery, outstanding national parks and relatively low visitor densities continues to make it one of the continent's finest self-drive destinations.
If you're planning a Namibia holiday:
- Book accommodation well in advance if travelling during July and August.
- Consider visiting in April, May, October or November for pleasant weather and fewer visitors.
- A self-drive itinerary remains the best way to experience the country.
- Flying via Johannesburg offers the widest range of international flight connections.
- Don't limit yourself to Etosha National Park—Namibia's lesser-known national parks offer exceptional off-the-beaten-track experiences.
Looking ahead, Namibia's Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism forecasts international arrivals to rebound strongly in 2026 to around 1.69 million visitors. If that recovery materialises, the coming months could offer an ideal opportunity to experience one of Africa's most spectacular destinations before visitor numbers increase again.
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