Windhoek - Namibia, long famous for its giant sand dunes and more recently as the birthplace of Angelina Jolie's baby, is now southern Africa's fastest-growing tourism market, the World Travel and Tourism Council said on Thursday.
"You are now forecast to be growing almost twice as fast as your neighbours. That's a very exciting opportunity," WTTC Vice President Richard Miller told an industry group, detailing the results of a survey of Namibia's tourism potential.
The WTTC, a global forum for tourism professionals, said Namibia's tourism real annual growth was projected at more than nine percent over the next decade, putting it ahead of other regional stars including Botswana, South Africa and Tanzania.
Tourism already contributes 16 percent to Namibia's gross domestic product and was expected to account for more than 18 000 jobs, or 4.7 percent of total employment in Namibia, in 2006, the WTTC study said.
"You are the fourth-fastest travel and tourism industry now in the world, that is a very high objective and I hope you will achieve it," Miller said.
Namibia has not in the past kept separate records of tourism earnings, making real growth hard to calculate.
But the country has set its sights on rapidly expanding its tourism offerings, which include vast game reserves, deserted Atlantic beaches, some of the world's highest sand dunes and proximity to South Africa, host of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
Namibia got a publicity boost earlier this year when Hollywood stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt chose the country for the birth of their daughter Shiloh Nouvel - sparking a media scramble that put Namibia on the front pages of celebrity magazines around the globe.
"You are now forecast to be growing almost twice as fast as your neighbours. That's a very exciting opportunity," WTTC Vice President Richard Miller told an industry group, detailing the results of a survey of Namibia's tourism potential.
The WTTC, a global forum for tourism professionals, said Namibia's tourism real annual growth was projected at more than nine percent over the next decade, putting it ahead of other regional stars including Botswana, South Africa and Tanzania.
Tourism already contributes 16 percent to Namibia's gross domestic product and was expected to account for more than 18 000 jobs, or 4.7 percent of total employment in Namibia, in 2006, the WTTC study said.
"You are the fourth-fastest travel and tourism industry now in the world, that is a very high objective and I hope you will achieve it," Miller said.
Namibia has not in the past kept separate records of tourism earnings, making real growth hard to calculate.
But the country has set its sights on rapidly expanding its tourism offerings, which include vast game reserves, deserted Atlantic beaches, some of the world's highest sand dunes and proximity to South Africa, host of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
Namibia got a publicity boost earlier this year when Hollywood stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt chose the country for the birth of their daughter Shiloh Nouvel - sparking a media scramble that put Namibia on the front pages of celebrity magazines around the globe.
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