By Dhiladhila Magazine · Issue 06

The same harbour that stacks containers also lands cruise passengers beside a lagoon of flamingos.

The expansion of the Walvis Bay container terminal is a commercial story, but it lands in a town that is also one of Namibia’s most appealing coastal destinations. The same sheltered bay that now handles more containers has long welcomed cruise ships, whose passengers step off almost into the town centre, minutes from a lagoon, a waterfront and the dunes beyond.

A harbour that works two ways

Walvis Bay wears two hats. It is Namibia’s principal commercial port, and it is a scheduled call for international cruise lines, with vessels from operators such as Holland America, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity calling through the season. For visitors the appeal is proximity: the berth sits near the centre, so a day ashore reaches the lagoon, the waterfront restaurants and the desert without a long transfer.

The draws are unusual for a port city. The Walvis Bay Lagoon is a wetland of international standing, drawing flamingos, pelicans and passing dolphins and seals, while just inland the Namib dunes offer sandboarding and quad trails on the towering Dune 7. The container expansion and the cruise trade are not rivals but two returns on the same protected water.

The bay earns twice from one shoreline: once from the container and once from the visitor.

For a tour operator, hospitality investor or destination marketer, the lesson of 2019 is that Walvis Bay’s growing cargo profile and its visitor appeal share a single asset – the bay itself. The move is to sell the town as more than a stopover, pairing the wildlife of the lagoon and the dunes with a working-port character few coastal destinations can offer.

Sources: The Namibian; Walvis Bay cruise port schedule (CruiseMapper); Walvis Bay 2019 cruise ship schedule (Crew Center)