The Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) said the number of Chinese tourists that visited Namibia has increased marginally from 9,910 in 2013 to 11,583 in 2014.
Ndapona Schleberger, the manager for international operations and marketing at the tourism authority, told media on Monday said the number of tourists that visited Namibia from other Asian countries - excluding China - in 2013 were 17,537 and in 2014 were 17,431.
She said the tourists attractions being marketed in China are Sossusvlei (One of Namibia's most spectacular landmarks with its red dunes, white salt pan, located in the southern part of the Namib Desert), Dead Vlei (A white clay pan located near Sossusvlei, inside the Namib-Naukluft Park in Namibia. its name means "dead marsh") because these destinations are a "paradise for photographing."
NTB's current marketing overseas marketing campaign focuses on tier one Chinese cities with large middle class population such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Chongqing.
Schleberger told Xinhua the coastal cities of Swakopmund and Walvis Bay are also being marketed by NTB as two ideal leisure places where Chinese tourists could "experience exotic activities such as dolphin cruises, sandwich harbor adventure tour, quad- biking."
Other attractions being marketed to tourists in the tier one Chinese cities is the game-rich Etosha National Park and Himba people (Indigenous peoples living in northern Namibia, their skins rubbed with red ochre) "whose pristine village life successfully satisfied the curiosity of Chinese tourists," she said.
Tourism is a major sector in Namibia with annual receipts of 7. 2 billion Namibian dollars (590 million U.S. dollars ) with from the over 1.3 million tourists mainly from South Africa, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy and France with increasing numbers coming from China.
In December 2014, Lonely Planet named Namibia the 5th best tourism destination in the world in terms of value.
