Gambia aiming to boost its once-vibrant tourism industry

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

In order to revitalize Gambia’s dwindling tourism sector, which was harshly affected during the Covid-19 pandemic, the West African country is looking closer to home, to boostits once-vibrant tourism industry.

Beaches normally teeming with British and Dutch sun seekers are almost empty, with hawkers of fresh juice and souvenirs standing idle at Lemon Creek beach in Bijali.

The downturn has affected the informal sector too, including beach bars, said Hassan Ndow, president of the Gambia Beach Bar Association.

“The beach bars were paralyzed, they couldn’t move,” Ndow said, adding that the recession in the country has made life even worse.

“We’re seriously suffering because of Covid-19, and we’ve had no emergency funding,” he said.

National heritage site Kachikally Sacred Crocodile Pool in Bakau, known as the main tourism attraction in Gambia, provides tourists the chance to touch and pet wild crocodiles.

The giant reptiles are fed once a week, in accordance with their digestive system, and guides make sure that visitors are safe while posing with and touching the unusually friendly creatures.

However, coronavirus has kept international tourists away.

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