WINDHOEK, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The collapse of Namibia's tourism industry due to COVID-19 is threatening the existence of the country's living museums who depend on international tourists for income, officials said Monday.
According to a Living Culture Foundation representative Sebastian Durrschmidt, the country's six living museums face an uncertain future as they have not received any income in five months.
"Like everywhere else in the world, the coronavirus has led to a collapse of the tourism industry in Namibia, this means a total loss of all income for living museums since March. The museums are at the brink of collapsing if tourism does not start soon," Durrschmidt said.
He said about 96 percent of the living museums' income comes from international tourists while about four percent is from local travelers or school visits.
"The living museums are the only employers in the six villages where they were developed thus the loss of income also means subsequent collapse of all income for over 2,000 people from the remaining village communities," he said.
A living museum is a type of museum which recreates historical settings to simulate past time period, providing visitors with an experiential interpretation of history. Namibia has six living museums that were established with the aim of preserving the country's traditional culture while also fighting poverty in rural areas through income generated from the museums.
According to statistics provided by the Living Museums Foundation, over 30,000 tourists visited living museums in 2017. Enditem
