The way forward for the tourism master plan study 
  
 By sheikh Tejan Nyang , Study Coordinator .Tourism
Development Master Plan 

The Tourism Development Master Plan  findings in
different tourism-related sections highlighted a
number of strengths of the Gambian tourism sector, but
also evident weaknesses and disadvantages in the
competition  for market share with other destinations.

Some of the present constraints, however, can be
turned into opportunities for future development.
There are also a number of threats, some of which are
beyond The Gambia's influence to deal with. 

In summary, The Gambia is faced with a relatively
stark choice.  If no action is taken, the destination
may lose market share in what could continue to be a
declining market.  At best it would continue to
effectively stand still, with not much in the way of
an increase in visitor numbers or in tourism revenues.

The alternative is to make a serious effort to achieve
progress and make the sector a more significant
contributor to the country's economic wealth and to
spread the benefits to a wider range of the
population. The SWOT analysis below summarizes the
situation of Tourism in The Gambia .

Strengths
 Weaknesses
 
Attractive beaches in mostly sound semi-tropical
environment
 Strong dependence on relatively few European package
tour operators with concentration on "winter sun" 
 
Pleasant climatic conditions in European winter with
potential for tourism in summer
 Relatively small quantitative & qualitative product
range (scenery, culture, sports, accommodation,
excursions)
 
Value-for-money accommodation in the middle/lower
price range
 Limited air access by scheduled carriers and strong
dependency on charter airlines 
 
Relatively short flight duration from Europe with no
jetlag problems; Airport close to tourist areas
 Undeveloped hinterland with little tourist
facilities; limited wildlife of tourist interest;
 
Friendly people with English as official language;
safe cultural environment for tourists
 Weak institutional framework with poor resources for
marketing, planning and enforcement of tourism
legislation
 
Well-defined Tourism Development Areas for future
balanced growth of tourism
 Partly undeveloped infrastructure with regard to
power & roads
 
No major negative socio-cultural and environmental
impact by tourists
 Poor training facilities in hospitality sector
 
Opportunities 
 Threats
 
Undeveloped, very attractive beaches on the South
Coast
 Dependency on limited number of tour operators in few
source markets
 
Climate suitable for year-round beach tourism
 Increasing competition and danger of being
"sidelined"
 
Possibilities to widen the present tourist offer
through adding historical, cultural and sport oriented
attractions
 Perception of increasing political instability in
West African region 
 
Opening-up the interior of the country including The
River Gambia
 Perception of increasing health hazards (e.g.
malaria) for a trip to West Africa
 
Development and improvement of niche markets, e.g.
bird watching, river cruises
 Degeneration of natural environment including beach
erosion
 
Development of community-based tourism eco-oriented
enterprises  with private partnership
 Weak institutional framework including uncontrolled
development in TDA and countrywide
 
Creation of more linkages between tourism and
agricultural sector
 No efforts to solve the Bumster problem
 
 

 


 

The aim of the TDMP is to present an overall framework
for future development, identifying key projects for
short-term, medium and long term  implementation. The
successful realisation of the Plan is therefore
dependent upon the implementation of specific actions.
These actions are outlined below in the form of an
action strategy covering:

l                    Destination Marketing  

l                    Product Development

l                    Quality in Tourism Establishments

l                    Social Issues

l                    Human Resources

l                    Responsible Tourism

l                    Linkages

l                    Infrastructure

l                    Environmental Management

 Destination Marketing 

 The marketing of The Gambia is done mainly by the
tour operators. More destination marketing has to be
done by GTA in order to support:- 

·        The efforts to secure more air services

·        The tour operators, who do a good job in
marketing The Gambia

·        The independent travel sector, which will
grow significantly with more ‘scheduled operations’,
and is a sector, very small, but with growth prospects

The principal marketing recommendations are that:-

·        a re-branding exercise is undertaken

·        destination marketing is undertaken through a
 private/public sector marketing team/partnership 

·        a drive is made to improve air access
including a scheduled service operated by a reputable
carrier to/from the UK

·        the Roots market is researched in the
north-eastern USA

 Product development

The aims of the product development strategy are to
develop a range of land and water based products:

·        to conserve, interpret and exploit the
natural and cultural heritage sites and areas;

·        to promote community-based tourism
development;

·        to conserve, enhance and market the product;
and

·        to encourage revitalisation of hotels and
diversification of the accommodation product through
introduction of integrated resorts, vacation villages,
quality lodges; and 

·        promoting a variety of things to see and do.

A series of pilot/demonstration projects were
identified to kick-start the product development
strategy and include:

·        natural resource development – beach, forest
and park improvements, National Park regeneration;

·        cultural heritage resource development -
historic sites, buildings, reuse and interpretation;

·        community development – promotion of soft
culture, arts and crafts, small business enterprises
and guiding;

·        product promotion – discovery routes, nature
and heritage trails and information dissemination; and

·        integrated planning – resort and recreational
developments;

 Projects have been identified for each of the TDAs.
For each project there will need to be a detailed
project definition and Terms of Reference (TOR). 
Project profiles for priority projects are given in
the Annexes.  There may be many more projects
identified as detailed plans are prepared for each
TDA.  As regards the Five-Year Action Plan emphasis
should be on creating a more attractive environment in
the existing TDA and planning and implementation of a
Senegambia Tourism Centre.

Other key projects are:

l                  Training local tour guides with
pilot programmes, potentially at James Island and/or
Jufereh;

l                    Research of product improvements
required to attract higher spending customers from the
EU.

 Quality in Tourism Establishments

This series of activities is aimed at establishing
minimum standards for ‘tourist hotels’ and for
enforcement by licensing control and to ensure that
appropriate investment incentives are available for
refurbishment.

 It is also to review the all-inclusive policy and to
encourage product improvement via annual Gambia
tourism awards. 

 Social Issues

Whilst social issues are highly critical to the
success of tourism in The Gambia, the main issue which
has to be resolved is that of the ‘bumsters’. The
Visitor Surveys indicated that a substantial
proportion of tourists are ‘put off’ by the activities
of the ‘bumsters’, so there is an urgent need to turn
this issue from a negative force into a positive
force. We have included for the ‘Needs Assessment’ and
for a follow up to the recommendations from such an
exercise.  An action programme has to be devised to
find ways in which bumsters can earn an income in a
way that demands a change in their behaviour.  Bumster
free areas must also be achieved, including at the
airport (although this will require a change to the
design and layout of the terminal building).

 Human resources

The Gambian people represent a real opportunity for
The Gambia to differentiate itself from other tourist
destinations, and so offer something special for the
tourists. Training programmes in its widest sense will
be the key drivers in this process. 

 Upgrading The Gambia Hotel School into a National
Tourism Training Institute is the key instrument for
achieving this. It is the major project to be
undertaken in the Five Year Plan (excluding the major
investments to be undertaken by the private sector).  

 Responsible Tourism

The Gambia has been a pioneer in responsible tourism,
and has been the beneficiary of two UK DFID funded
programmes in pro-poor tourism. 

A Responsible Tourism Policy for The Gambia was
launched by the Secretary of State for Tourism and
Culture at the 2004 World Travel Market in London.
This policy is a call to action in order to combat
some of the inequalities and negative impact of
tourism. The policy is addressed to the whole of the
tourism industry, government and the Gambia Tourism
Authority. It identifies objectives to achieve
responsible marketing of the destination and to deal
with issues of economic, social and environmental
responsibility.

It is envisaged that implementation of this policy
will come through a  Responsible Tourism Partnership
which is a multi stakeholders action group that
represent all interested parties working in the
tourism arena . In terms of implementation, working
document include 5 year target and an annual work
plan.  This process of developing responsible tourism
needs to be continued.

 Linkages

Spreading the benefits of tourism is critical to The
Gambia, and the main instrument in terms of linkages
is seen to be institutional support to the various
agricultural producer associations.  An immediate task
is for the future of the ‘Gambia is Good’ project to
be secured; this project is an outstanding one against
international comparison and is in need of further
financial support in order to achieve sustainability.

 Infrastructure

The main tourism programmes identified are:

l                    Rehabilitation of the Kotu
Wastewater Treatment Plant;

l                    Measures at the Kotu Power Plan
to prevent oil spills;

l                    Clean-up and closure of Bakota
solid waste dump.  This is already designed and will
be assisted through World Bank funding.

l                    A Green Hotel Programme to
minimise tourism demands on resources and protect the
tourism environment.

l                    Other tourism infrastructure
which will also benefit the local population, such as
provision of back-up generators at NAWEC’s borewells
and the construction of additional water storage tank
at Kotu.

The reliable supply of electricity is very important
to the long term sustainable future for tourism as it
is important for other sectors of the economy.

 Environmental Management

Some of the environmental issues are handled under the
infrastructure improvements but an additional
programme of environmental improvements under the
auspices of the NEA is included in the overall Action
Plan.

 1.1             Five Year Time Frame

 A number of projects have been considered for
inclusion in the proposed Five Year Action Plan. These
projects cover a number of fields including those that
will:

·        most effectively build capacity to implement
the Tourism Master Plan;

·        provide a number of projects for funding by
the African Development Bank and/or different
agencies; 

The costs of these projects will be modest compared
with any of the private sector investments in new
facilities.  But, whilst small, these will be the
initiatives that will provide the right business
environment for the private sector such that economic
benefits spin off from the private sector investments
to the Gambian people. 

 The  way forward  

Tourisms contribution to our economy is quite
significant if we are to quantify its contribution to
the balance of payment, employment, foreign exchange
earnings among others. 

Tourisms benefits could be more if only we are able to
address the significant leakages of gross visitor
expenditure due to imports and payments retained
outside The Gambia estimated to be 218 million Dalasis
.( Rudy and Tim 2005 studies ) 

The Gambia’s dependant on package tourism couple with
low occupancy factor and the seasonal aspect of the
industry has made tourist accommodation earnings, too
little properly refurbish and keep up standards that
tourist now expect –both in quality of services
available   and the standards of physical structures. 
Thus leading to serious price dumping which has
affected the industry over the years and has lead to a
number of hotels changing hands in the form of lease
arrangement or being sold. This situation will remain
the same unless and until our hoteliers start to
implement guaranteed contracts to make room for more
profitability.  

Delayed payment by tour operators to hoteliers for
services rendered months after departure of tourist is
another serious leakage in our economy which is
affecting the profitability of the industry. Tour
Operators honoring contractual arrangements of payment
of invoices after three weeks after guest departure
would go a long way in improving the cash flow of
hotels in the Gambia      

Having said that, the low prices offered by tour
operators under a seasonal tourism industry Will only
wretch the industry that is presently struggling to
survive in meeting high operational cost expensive
infrastructural development in the form of generating
e mainly energy,  high NAWEC bills and government
taxes . 

Our advice on the all-inclusive is that The Gambia
cannot turn its back to what is now a clearly
established market preference. We have learnt from our
mistakes once and we need to make a comparative study
as recommended for us to be able to decide on what
form of all- inclusive we want to introduce or
otherwise .

The survival of our tourism industry is depends on a
lot of key factors, the key being mainly the
implementation of the required policy actions that
would allow the industry to be more competitive with
other destinations.

The issue of air access has be classified as a
priority area to be tackled to meet the growing need
of our modern airport  by providing more passengers
and aircraft throughout to pay for the running of an
international airport in Banjul . This could be
achieved by Government giving the necessary support
and incentives to airlines in the form of reduce
landing and handling fees, aviation fuel among other
to allow the industry to flourish. We have lost a
number of golden opportunities such as S .N Brussels
changing of crew and refueling in The Gambia. These
unfortunate situations would scared away many would be
airline operator from investing in The Gambia.
Authorities need to look at the multiplier and long
term effect of the operations of these companies would
have on our industry and the overall economy.   

I strongly believe that if tourism is to be the engine
of growth, we should look at issues of sustainability
and the need for real consolidation instead of the
blind expansion for the next five years to be able to
develop a proper tourism sector which is focus on
planned development.

Institutional development and human resource
development of the sector is key in the recommendation
of the Master Plan. The strengthening of the
Department of State for Tourism and Culture with a
planning unit manned by tourism professionals will
make a big difference in the administration and
monitoring of the sector. Technical Experts in the
areas of Institutional building and Marketing will
assist the Gambia Tourism Authority in its
reorganization in meeting the growing challenges of
the tourism sector.

The Gambia Hotel School when developed to a Tourism
and Hospitality Institute with the assistance of a
long term technical expert who would  assist in the
development of a new curriculum and make
recommendations for its accreditation to the
University of the Gambia.    

Social issues addressed in the report can only be
addressed through a national awareness campaign and
through a pro-poor strategy. This needs to be done
through specific target groups such as policy and
decision makers, opinion leaders, the and the younger
generation and the public at large . A tourism school
curriculum has been developed and it is expected to be
introducing to schools very soon. There is also the
urgent need of developing a visitor awareness
programme, which will prepare tourist well before
their arrival in our country. This could take the form
of an in-flight magazine and or  Brochure .

Harmonization of taxes and our laws are and impediment
to our tourism industry which if not urgently
addressed would discourage investors.

Tourism development requires land, and despite the
large size of land that is available within the
Tourism Development Area, There are still problems of
and management and ownership that needs to be
resolved.

Last but not least.

 Small scale enterprises play a leading role in the
development of any country and as such the necessary
support in the form of proper guidance, training and
access to finance needs to be properly addressed for
the benefits of Gambians. 

Let us pray.

Allah helps us and guides us :

In promoting a good quality of tourist activity that
is appropriate for the quest of a just, Participatory,
and sustainable society.
 Empower indigenous people and support them to have
access and fair price.

Give us the necessary support and commitment to work
for gender justice and child protection in tourism.
AMEN.      
 Chi Jamma .
Brother Sheikh Tejan 

 

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