Tourists wait up to 2 hours to be processed
Since the introduction of the visa-on-arrival system, the Hosea Kutako and Walvis Bay international airports have seen long queues, leaving many visitors frustrated.
Namibia introduced the visa-on-arrival system on 1 April, allowing holiday makers and visitors from over 30 countries, including Germany and the United States, to stay in the country for up to 90 days.
“Three and a half hours to enter the country, and that’s with an e-visa – what on earth was that?” said a tourist couple in the arrivals hall at Hosea Kutako International Airport, who recently shared their experience with Spotlighting Namibia, an online independent civic publication.
According to the publication, the two holidaymakers landed on schedule at 13h20. With the new visa-on-arrival, applied and paid for in advance online, they were only processed at around 17h00.
“It will be half past six by the time we get our hire car and can set off,” they calculated.
“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.”
In an article published earlier this week, the publication suggested that feedback from tour operators and tourists arriving at Hosea Kutako was concerning. Some claim the new system is creating significant delays and could have a disastrous effect on the tourism industry.
The publication suggested that the new system was leading to long processing times of up to two hours for those arriving in the country.
They fear the situation may worsen during the high season starting at the end of June.
“Many travel companies are raising the alarm. It is still low season at the moment. They fear 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 home affairs ministry to honour its promise of a smooth arrival for tourists,” the article states.
DENIAL
Since then, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security has refuted the article, stating that its contents are “not only factually incorrect but appear to be a deliberate attempt to distort public perception, create confusion, and discredit a successful national policy that has significantly enhanced both Namibia’s immigration system and its tourism sector.”
The ministry points to the fact that the visa-on-arrival system has already generated N$100 million in revenue and allowed 70 000 visitors and tourists to enter the country since its inception.
They also assert that the process has already been streamlined by no longer requiring e-visa holders to complete an additional visa-on-arrival form upon entry, eliminating several steps in the immigration process.
TESTING THE SYSTEM
Despite this, yesterday morning long queues were observed at Hosea Kutako International Airport when two big flights, one from Addis Ababa and another from Johannesburg, landed 10 minutes apart.
Each flight was carrying over 200 passengers.
One visitor to Hosea Kutako describes their own immigration process as being positive when the process’ capacity was tested when the two flights landed.
“From what we could observe, most travellers arrived well prepared with the required paperwork in hand, and 10 out of the 12 immigration booths were manned and there appeared to be two supervisors on the floor moving in between the booths,” they say, adding that “the line at the scanner was much shorter than usual thanks to more efficient handling.”
They did, however, notice that visitors were still being required to fill out the arrival and departure form, and that the large volume of arrivals were causing delays.
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“Our overall experience was that the officials were friendly and efficient and all systems were working, but because of large volumes of arrivals delays can be expected,” they say.
WORRIED
During their annual general meeting held earlier this month, the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) expressed concerns over the new system in the weeks following its implementation.
According to HAN chairman Ally Karaerua, the first impression after implementation of the visa-on-arrival system was disastrous.
“Based on feedback from the market, this whole process left a very negative impression and Namibia would be advised to review and improve on the system and information sharing to salvage some of its image lost,” he said.
The association highlighted that they were working on minimising the negative impact of these changes, and that feedback from the industry would be vital to reviewing and improving the system going forward.
