As the World battens down the hatches and settles in to wait out the COVID-19 pandemic, we suddenly have to fill days with innovative ways of entertaining kids who would otherwise be at school and for those who don’t have the endless ‘Why mommy?’ questions, entertaining ourselves with binge-watching long-neglected series.
We also run the risk of social media overload, as we constantly try to stay up to date with the latest developments and infection numbers, causing ourselves stress and panic.
Maybe NOW is the time to step away from social media frenzy for a while and look to the future… start planning your next holiday because, as dismal as things may appear at the moment, there is one certainty – THIS TOO SHALL PASS!
Once the dust has settled and the World re-emerges, there will be new adventures to be had, and often-times it is better to look to the future, rather than focusing on the here and now.
Why, I hear you ask… the simple answer is – for the greater, global good.
Many economies, Namibia being no exception, depend on tourism as a massive contributor to their GDP.
Just less than 50% of Namibia’s landmass is under conservation of some sorts, including National Parks, private nature reserves and community conservancies.
Community conservancies mean that the local community owns the land that the lodge is built on and by local communities earning income from tourism enterprises, tourism directly contributes to the upliftment of these rural communities; improving their standard of living, medical care and education.
Tourism is also a labour intensive industry, and one where the workforce is unlikely to be automated, it is made up of personalities and story tellers, it employs people with a varied skill-set from labourers to cleaners, chefs to guides. Every single person working in the tourism industry does have one commonality; a deep-seated love for our Country and a passion for sharing that.
In Namibia alone, tourism contributes about 20% of our GDP and employs about 15% of the population, directly. This does not include the auxiliary industries like restaurants and filling stations which benefit from tourism dollars as well.
So why should you choose Namibia, specifically?
There is a reason why Namibia was voted Wanderlust Magazine’s top destination for 2020; its towering ochre sand dunes, national parks teeming with wildlife and ancient San petroglyphs means that it is not a pure safari destination and can cater to everyone.
Now that you have spent all this extra time with your family, you might have found that you actually like hanging out with them, and Namibia completely lends itself to a family break-away… I mean, we do have the World’s largest sand box (but we don’t advise bringing the cat)
All the conditions that the COVID-19 virus enjoys and needs to thrive, cool conditions and crowds, you won’t find them here. With 300 sunshine days per annum, we are the sunniest country in Southern Africa, and with the second lowest population density in the world, we can guarantee you wide open spaces.
So whilst the World is going crazy out there, why not gather the family together around a map, and plan together. This can definitely qualify as ‘natural science’ for home schooling.
We are all in this together, we will survive – us humans are resilient like that, it will pass, and planning your holiday NOW will help divert the focus from the panic and craziness all around; give you and your family something to look forward to, and at the same time, ensure that there write papers are jobs for the tens of thousands of people employed in Namibian tourism.
So Keep Calm, wash your hands and plan a trip to Namibia!
