It’s the smallest country in mainland Africa. It’s avoided Ebola but has its fair share of challenges. This week on Leaders of Travel, I speak to the tourism chief from The Gambia.
Now, this week we are looking at Africa. In fact, we’re looking at the smallest country in mainland Africa which is, The Gambia. Remember that fact for your next trivia night.
It’s a pretty popular tourism destination, although almost half of the visitors come from the UK. So there’s now a push to bring in more tourists overall and grow the market from other countries.
So, what does The Gambia offer? Well, it’s got beaches, it’s got a beautiful river, it’s getting more ecotourism opportunities in the rural areas, and it’s setting up some big events and festivals.
But the country also has some issues to deal with. Ebola has been one recently – although there were no infections in The Gambia, it is in that region so there were definitely people avoiding travel.
There have also been things like bumsters – which is a word that describes the people who hang around the tourist areas and hassle foreigners for money or work. You’re going to hear in a second how that’s being tackled.
Because to find out more about The Gambia, I’ve decided to chat to the Director General of the Gambia Tourism Board, Abdoulie Hydara.
There’s a lot going on in his country this year, so let’s jump straight to it…
As always, I hope you’ve enjoyed the podcast this week. It would be awesome if you could jump on itunes and subscribe and leave a review. I know you’ve been meaning to do it for weeks, so why not make today the day you actually do!
Next episode, I’ll be talking about young travellers – how the youth market has changed and how the industry has changed with them. So make sure you tune in for that chat with the head of Hostelling International.
Until then, my name is Michael Turtle from the travel blog Time Travel Turtle, and you’ve been listening to Leaders of Travel.
