This paper summarises a study commissioned by the Namibian Coast Conservation and
Management (NACOMA) Project which investigated the sustainability of tourism
development in the coastal zone of Namibia. It complements another paper on the
sustainability of coastal natural resource use, presented in another Research Discussion Paper
in this series, No 78.
All relevant literature and data as well as some directly collected empirical information, was
used to estimate the income and employment associated with the coastal tourism sector, its
sustainability and its expansion potential. Valuation was undertaken using data from both the
supply of tourism services (the tourism establishment), and the demand for tourism services
(tourism expenditures). This provided some convergent validation.