A general view of sand dunes and desert area of the Dorob National Park, part of the Namib desert, is taken on Feb 17, 2016 on the outskirts of Swakopmund, Namibia. (PHOTO / AFP)

SWAKOPMUND, Namibia - Set against miles of mesmerizing sand dunes, Namibia's seaside resort town of Swakopmund is seeing a boom in sandboarding, buoyed by a near-doubling of the numbers of cruise liners docking at nearby Walvis Bay last year.

Lying between the 80,000 square km Namib desert and the sea, Swakopmund is drawing tourists back, three years after lockdown brought Namibia's visitor numbers - previously around a million a year - to a standstill.

Many of them are tempted by the thrill of this extreme sport, which involves sliding down sand dunes standing up or lying down on a board at speeds of up to 80 km an hour.

"It is one of the best things to do around here," said Aylin Yazan, a media professional from London on her first trip to Namibia.

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A Namibian child, part of a group of tourists on a desert day tour, plays on sand dunes in the desert area of the Dorob National Park, part of the Namib desert, on Feb 17, 2016 on the outskirts of Swakopmund, Namibia. (PHOTO / AFP)

Walvis Bay is also seeing a boom in traffic from shippers diverting their cargoes away from the insecurity on the Red Sea and chronic congestion at ports in neighbouring South Africa.

For sandboarding guide Devon Waters, 28, a longtime resident of Swakopmund, which lies 360 km northwest of Windhoek, the sport offered an escape from a life on the streets, where drugs and crime were a constant temptation.

"(Sandboarding) changed me a lot. It keeps me off the streets because we work here every day," Waters, who has been a guide for eight years, told Reuters.

"It puts bread on the table."