By Ramatoulie Jawo
The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, in collaboration with the Gambia Tourism Board, initiated a two-day stakeholders dialogue forum at a local hotel in Kotu on Tuesday.
This forum gathered key players from the tourism sector to engage in a public dialogue with the Honorable Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. The aim was to inform the Minister about the sector’s developments and challenges, and to propose solutions.
The forum serves as a platform for stakeholders to update each other on preseason tourism arrangements and other factors affecting tourism, hospitality, and culture.
During the opening ceremony, Hon. Abdoulie Jobe, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, emphasized the forum’s significance, noting its timely occurrence.
“The reason for this gathering is not for us to talk till doom days, but is to give you the opportunity to tell us what are your challenges and what do you think we can do to address them,” he said.
He mentioned that some challenges could be addressed by the GT Board, while others might need intervention at the Ministry or cabinet level.
“With that, we will be seen to be working together as a sector. Because if it works, it doesn’t work for the government alone; it works for all of us. So, therefore, this forum could not have come at a better time. As I said, I have reached out to some of you, and they have given us some of the ideas, and we have started working on some of the ideas,” he said.
Hon. Jobe also mentioned meetings with the hotel association, the Gambia Tourism Association, and the travel association, where concerns were raised and some issues resolved.
“We were able to solve some of the problems. Because there are certain things that are not for the operators to solve, but it’s the government that should solve them. So if we do not know, then we will not be able to solve them. And that is why we are here, and this is just the beginning. My doors are wide open for discussions regarding the sector,” he added.
He noted that some issues raised were forwarded to the Ministry of Trade, leading to productive discussions.
Lamin Comma, the program manager of the coastal and marine environment program at the National Environment Agency, highlighted their efforts to identify and remove hazardous asbestos across the country.
“We know that asbestos is very hazardous. If they start to crack, the dust that they emit contains what we call UPOPs and PCBs. UPOPs are unintentional, persistent organic pollutants. PCBs, these are polychlorinated biphenyls. These are very detrimental to our health. So I want to tell this gathering that the National Environment Agency has taken it upon ourselves to go around the entire country to mark the asbestos roofing, and we have started removing all this asbestos,” he highlighted.
Mr. Comma added that they started the exercise at the health facilities, and schools. And the process is ongoing.
Omar Sanyang, CEO of Smile for Life The Gambia, urged stakeholders to collaborate on rebranding their marketing strategies to attract more tourists.
“We need to come together and rebrand the way we do our marketing outside to attract Tourism. Because we are in the twenty-first century, anything that we need to do needs to match the current situation. I think the Minister and his fellow cabinet members should make sure that every two years institutions present their reports to know who is doing what and what they think we can add to make sure that our sector is improved,” he suggested.
Sanyang also proposed ecotourism initiatives, such as turtle watching, to attract tourists.
” You know, since 2015, we have been seeing a lot of tourists that will book their tickets to The Gambia only to come and see turtles in the pool, or to go on night patrol with our volunteers to see turtles. Which I think could be an added advantage to the tourism sector,” he said.
Salimatou Baldeh from the Food Safety and Quality Authority called for collaboration to ensure food safety in tourism areas.
“I will take this opportunity to appeal to the authorities and to the Gambia Tourism Board, in the interest of food safety, and safe food, to please collaborate and work together to ensure safe food in the tourism development Areas. Because we all know that when we talk about tourism, the first thing we think of is the food. We cannot go without food. So to ensure food safety, we need the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders in the instance that we will make safe tourism in this country,” she said.
She stressed that in the event of any food safety incidents in the country, the Food Safety and Quality Authority will be actively involved. She assured the gathering that their institution is committed to collaborating with everyone.
David Adams, the representative of Fair-Play Gambia based in Janjanbureh, highlighted some of the challenges faced by rural tourism.
“We all know the benefits that rural tourism can bring. One tourist that goes out into the community and spends their money in the community is worth far more than 10 tourists that sit on The Beach, eating imported food and drinking imported drinks. So the future for the Gambia, I believe the future for tourism is rural tourism, sustainable tourism, and all the trends that are happening globally. I think if we are serious about tourism in the Gambia, that is something that we should make far more effort at,” he stated.