Namibia sees growing opportunities to welcome more Chinese visitors: tourism official

A Namibian tourism official says his country is looking to tap into the vast potential afforded by Chinese tourists by taking steps to welcome more leisure and business travelers from China, with growing ties between the two sides set to bring benefits that extend far beyond the tourism sector.

Relations between Namibia and China have been in the spotlight as Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitiwah on Saturday wrapped up a week-long state visit at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Monday, Sebulon Chicalu, CEO of the Namibia Tourism Board, noted that China has become Namibia's eighth-largest overseas tourism source market, a development which underscores the country's rising appeal among Chinese travelers and signals stronger prospects for bilateral ties.

According to the latest Tourist Statistical Report released in June, China ranked eighth among Namibia's overseas tourism source markets in 2025, with over 9,600 Chinese tourists making the trip last year.

Chicalu welcomed the rising number of Chinese arrivals and said Namibia is on the "right track" as it successfully targets a fast-growing market with increasing interest in its tourism offerings.

"We're targeting a market that's really growing and we're targeting a market that is demanding the destination. It indicates the recognition of the Chinese visitors of the Namibian tourism experience and tourism product offerings, that they're appreciating, they value it, and they want to come and enjoy it. We know now that Chinese travelers love landscapes, wide open spaces, but also taking photographs, and just relating themselves to nature," he said.

Noting the significance of President Nandi-Ndaitwah's visit, Chicalu said the two countries enjoy strong diplomatic ties, and believes that beyond merely boosting visitor numbers, tourism is playing a major role in strengthening people-to-people exchanges and opening up business opportunities.

"You'll see a lot of people-to-people exchanges taking place, combined with the good relationship that Namibia has with China, equally cemented by our head of state's visits to China. I think, for me, tourism cannot happen without people-to-people exchanges. I think Namibians welcome Chinese visitors who are coming as tourists, so they feel at home, they feel at ease. Whether for leisure, whether for business, but also whether for trade in itself, then there is a focus on Namibia that will benefit more than tourism," he said

"That's why we embarked on training the travel agents to operate this too so that they are very familiar with the visa process and they're able to help the visitors and consumers that are traveling (from) China. And we believe that this will definitely succeed, and we'll have more Chinese visitors coming to Namibia, both businesses and also leisure travelers," Chicalu continued.

Namibia sees growing opportunities to welcome more Chinese visitors: tourism official

Rally participants gathered in the Japanese capital on Aug 9, which also marked the 81st anniversary of the Nagasaki atomic bombing, to voice strong opposition to the government's push to boost defense spending and revise the war-renouncing Article 9 of the national Constitution.

Holding anti-war placards, chanting anti-war slogans, protesters warned that remilitarizing the nation would betray its pacifist ideals and endanger future generations.

"Defense spending keeps increasing. Based on Article 9 of the Constitution, Japan pledged never to wage war again, yet it keeps strengthening its military. I find this extremely dangerous. They are also trying to revise Article 9. So I believe that for the sake of future young people and children, Article 9 must never be revised. Japan decided never to repeat the mistakes of waging a war after its defeat in WWII. I think we should continue to safeguard that commitment," said a rally participant.

For many in the crowd, the shadow of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remains a powerful moral compass as they believe that militarization offers no path forward for a nation that knows the devastation of war firsthand.

"Japan is the only country in the world to have suffered atomic bombings. Yet now Japan is going to deploy missiles. I believe Japan must never possess nuclear weapons," said another rally participant.

"I believe Japan has no future if it goes down the path of militarization. Nuclear weapons are absolutely bad for Japan," said a third woman, also a rally participant.

Beyond moral objections, some demonstrators said that Japan's economic vulnerabilities articulate that saber-rattling is a luxury the country cannot afford.

"I can't help but wonder what on earth a country with only a 36 percent food self-sufficiency rate would be fighting with. I have always been opposed to war, and I'm deeply dissatisfied with what the Takaichi administration is doing now," said another rally participant.

Other rally participants said that seeing revision of the Constitution could unleash unchecked military expansion, stripping away the very safeguards that have kept Japan at peace for eight decades.

"Article 9 of the Constitution is the key. If the nature of the Self-Defense Forces is elevated to a level beyond collective self-defense, which is explicitly written into the Constitution, it will allow the authority of the Self-Defense Forces to expand without limit. So no matter what, I want to prevent this from happening," said one more rally participant.

Japanese citizens rally against Takaichi's military expansion, constitutional revision