An Austrian man (59) was last week killed by an elephant in the Huab River, in Namibia where a group of tourists were camping, the country’s environment and tourism ministry has said.
Windhoek said it has since been established that the area in which the group of tourists were camping is not a designated camping site.
“This is a very unfortunate incident and highly regrettable,” it said. “…police investigation in the matter continues. Among other things we also want to establish if the tourists were guided by a tour guide.”
The Ministry advised tourists to always be cautious and adhere to the rules and regulations put in place for their safety.
“We wish to express our sincere condolences to the bereaved family and friends of the deceased,” it said.
Namibia’s elephant population at present has grown to about 24,000 from just over 7,500 in 1995.
Namibia and its neighbours had been pushing for CITES to allow the legal international trade of their ivory.
Although the country exercises strict control over ivory stocks, it is worried that the continued accumulation of stocks by an average of 4.5% per annum due mainly to natural mortality, will cause security problems.
The direct contribution of travel and tourism to Namibia’s gross domestic product (GDP) was about $370 million or 2.9% of the country’s total GDP in 2017, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
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