Partnership:
Responsible Tourism Policy for The Gambia
2002:
This Responsible Tourism Policy has been prepared by the Responsible
Tourism Partnership and has been produced and agreed through a
multi-stakeholder process.
Tourism is important in The Gambia. The governments policy is to
promote tourism and its contribution to economic growth. Our objective
is to increase the contribution of tourism to our
economy and to raise
the living standards of Gambians. The government is continuing its
efforts to broaden the tourism market, improve quality standards, and
ensure rational use of the Tourism Development Area.
We recognise that in order to achieve this objective it is in our
interest to work together with those who bring tourists and with the
industry here in The Gambia. We share the aspirations of the Cape Town
Declaration on Responsible Tourism. It is the responsibility of all
stakeholders to join with us to create better places for people to
live in and for people to visit.
We are committed to the realisation of Responsible Tourism in The
Gambia. Consistent with the principles of responsible tourism we, the
Responsible Tourism Partnership, seek to maximise positive impacts and
to minimise the negative ones. Legislation plays a significant role in
creating the framework for tourism and for achieving responsible
tourism.
We recognise that much can be achieved though partnerships to achieve
a more
balanced relationship between hosts and guests in The Gambia, and to
create better
places for local communities to live in. It is the responsibility of
government, local
communities and Gambian and originating market businesses to
co-operate in
practical joint initiatives to realise
responsible tourism.
The Gambia is its people. The diverse peoples of The Gambia are what
distinguishes
our country from the many other winter sun and sun, sand and sea
destinations.
The cultural heritage of our people is our primary tourism asset.
Executive Summary:
This policy is a call to action in order to combat some of the
inequalities and negative
impacts of tourism. It comes at a time when The Gambia has a desperate
need to
re-launch its image of being a cheap winter sun destination that is
dominated by the
mass tourist market. At the same time elements such as sex tourism,
hassle and
environmental degradation need to be tackled. This 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
the Responsible
Tourism Partnership which is a multi stakeholder action group that
represents all
interested parties working in the tourism arena. In terms of
implementation, working
documents are already in existence that include 5 year targets and an
annual work
plan.
Vision:
To make The Gambia a better place to visit and a better place to live
in
recognising that it is the interaction between guests and hosts in a
secure and
enjoyable environment that is the experience of The Gambia and which
encourages people to return.
Our vision will be realised by addressing the triple bottom line of
economic, social
and environmental responsibility and by engaging with product
development and
marketing. The Responsible Tourism Partnership is a national
partnership between
different government ministries, NGOs, the private and public sectors
and
communities formed to promote our shared vision for tourism in The
Gambia.
We propose to agree an annual programme for change and development and
to
agree targets for each year. These targets will be used to enable us
to monitor and
report progress.
Introduction:
We recognise that tourism is of considerable importance to The Gambian
economy
and to the lives of people in The Gambia. Tourism has the potential to
bring jobs and
livelihoods to Gambians and to make The Gambia a better place to live
in. We
recognise that the safety and security of visitors and the community
is important if
tourism is to contribute to raising the living standards of
communities in The Gambia.
We need to develop a more diverse product in order to continue to
attract people
from our established markets and from new ones we are aware that
tourists seek a
variety of experiences and that the traditional sun, sand and sea
holiday market is
increasingly competitive and in decline. The Gambia and its people
have much to
offer international visitors and the Responsible Tourism Partnership
works with all
stakeholders in the industry Gambian and international to grow the
industry in
ways which maximise the benefits (economic, social and environmental)
to The
Gambia.
The Gambia has a rich cultural diversity with several different
ethnic
groups including
the Mandinka (42% of the population), Fula (18%), Wolof (16%), Jola
(10%), and
Serahuli (9%). The people of The Gambia are one of our major tourism
assets it is
important that along with our colleagues in the originating markets we
develop
tourism products which enable our visitors to enjoy the cultural
diversity and to have
positive interactions with our communities, sharing something of our
local living
culture. We recognise that we need to work with colleagues in the
originating markets
and in The Gambia to enhance the quality of the interaction between
our
communities and visitors to improve the experience for hosts and
guests.
Tourism in The Gambia has developed in the coastal strip. Whilst we
recognise that it
is largely our beaches and
climate that will continue to attract
tourists to this
destination, there is increasing interest in the inland area along the
river and that over
the next decade tourism will develop in the rural areas, the
bird watching sector will
grow, as will other opportunities to experience the countryside and to
interact with
rural communities. The Responsible Tourism Partnership will encourage
the
development of tourism in the rural areas and along the river and will
work to create a
framework within which capital can be raised for small-scale
investments. We will
encourage this development in ways which meet the objectives of
ecotourism. We
will encourage the development of tourism initiatives which bring
supplementary
livelihood opportunities to local communities; help to fund the
conservation of our
natural and cultural heritage; and provide visitors with enjoyable and
high quality
experiences. It is important that in The Gambia these new products,
often locally
owned and small scale, are marketed to tourists in the Tourism
Development Area.
Our objective is that all forms of tourism should contribute to these
objectives all
our visitors should have the opportunity to experience more of The
Gambia. The
Tourism Development Area is a very small part of what we have to
offer.
The remainder of this policy document is in four sections dealing with
the issue of
marketing and the triple bottom line of economic, social and
environmental
sustainability.
1. Marketing The Gambia to Achieve Our Vision:
The way in which The Gambia is marketed is a central part of the
process of implementing
responsible tourism principles in The Gambia. We seek to grow
the industry by attracting market
segments which value the natural and cultural heritage assets of
The Gambia. We seek to
differentiate The Gambia from other sun, sand and sea
destinations we enjoy high levels of
repeat business and we seek to build on those elements of the
product which encourage repeat
visiting. We recognise that the further development of the
industry in The Gambia, and
investment in it, is dependent upon planning and product
development which meet the
requirements of the evolving market. We also recognise that we
can influence the kinds of
tourists that we attract by the way n which we develop and
present The Gambia as a tourism
product.
We will achieve this by:
competing on product richness and quality, not just on price;
choosing to attract market segments which are attracted by the
diversity of our natural and
cultural heritage and the strength and diversity of our living
cultures;
encouraging the development and marketing of complementary
products;
building local capacity to enrich the product offer by
providing a diversity of high quality
tourism products and services through SMMEs and community
organisations generally in partnership with established national and
international businesses;
recognising that marketing plays a critical role in educating
tourists about the local cultures;
and by ensuring that they get the most out of their holiday by
enjoying positive interactions
with local communities. Pre-arrival education plays a key role
in achieving responsible tourism in any destination;
ensuring the health, safety and security of visitors,
recognising that this is critical to the
success of tourism; and that health, safety and security are
also important to our communities who also benefit from initiatives in
this area;
using the concept of responsibility to connect our products
and services in The Gambia to the European market trend towards more
experiential and responsible products;
ensuring that our tourism product is accessible to all
including disabled visitors;
working with the national and international industry to ensure
that the images we use to promote The Gambia are socially inclusive
and do not give cause for offence to communities in The Gambia and
identifying and promoting best practice and building on our
successes.
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2. Economic Responsibility:
We recognise that it is important that local communities are
involved in and benefit from
tourism
and that this has the potential to enrich The
Gambia as a
destination and will increase both
national and local community earnings from tourism.
There are three major objectives to be achieved over the next
five years:
a. Assess economic impacts as a pre-requisite to developing
tourism:
- Extend the season to create better employment conditions and
to provide a stronger
base for local economic development.
- Increase the contribution from tourism to the maintenance of
our cultural heritage,
traditional ways of life and wildlife and habitats.
- Encourage business relationships between originating market
companies and local and
emerging entrepreneurs.
- Consider the opportunity costs of tourism for the local
communities and their livelihoods,
and be prepared to accept that there may be more appropriate
economic opportunities
for people in their area.
- Maintain and encourage economic diversity, avoiding
over-dependency on tourism.
- Ensure that tourism initiatives and investments contribute to
local economic development
strategy and avoid developments which negatively impact on local
communities.
- Ensure that market and financial feasibility assessments are
competently completed
before raising expectations and exposing the community or local
entrepreneurs to risk.
b. Maximise local economic benefits by increasing linkages and
reducing leakages:
- Encourage and strengthen the informal sector to become part of
the formal sector,
through partnership and other business linkages by encouraging
local purchasing.
- Encourage accommodation and tour operating businesses to
co-operate in order to enrich the product; increase average
length of stay and visitor spend; assist local smmes to
establish themselves and market new products and services; and
grow, creating additional jobs and other livelihood
opportunities, by developing complementary products.
- Maximise economic benefits for local communities by
encouraging tourists to purchase
locally produced crafts and curios.
- Encourage formal sector businesses, individually and together,
to source goods and
services from the local community; and to assist with the
development of the local
capacity to supply tourism goods and services consistently, at
appropriate price and
quality and on a sufficient scale to meet the requirements of
the industry. We shall work
with the industry to achieve these objectives and encourage them
to provide visitor
feedback on their products and provide marketing, training and
managerial support.
- Encourage tour operators be more innovative in their
itineraries, by for example including
markets, local museums, heritage sites,
arts and crafts and
local restaurants in their tour
itineraries, and by doing so encourage visitor spend.
- Recognises that excessive competition in the informal sector
contributes to hassling and
undermines both quality and livelihood opportunities. We will
work with the formal and
informal sectors to diversify provision and to match supply and
demand.
c. Implementation:
We will work in a spirit of partnership with all stakeholders to
achieve our responsible tourism
objectives. We will:
- work with the formal and informal sectors to identify
partnerships and joint initiatives
which can assist in the development of the tourism industry in
the gambia.
- seek to establish targets for improving the quality of the
tourism experience in the Gambia
and for improving revenues to the national economy and in
particular to local
communities.
- report annually on the progress made towards achieving our
objectives. transparency is
essential in ensuring accountability and developing trust. We
will encourage self regulation but this is only possible within a framework of
transparent reporting.
3. Social Responsibility:
Tourism provides opportunities for human interaction; at its
best these relationships can take the
form, traditional in African culture of those between hosts and
guests, (traditions which are still
strong in The Gambia). However, tourism can also bring social
problems and we will work with
the formal and informal sectors, government and local
communities to address the issues which
arise.
There are two major tasks:
a. Involve local communities in planning and decision making.
Encourage participation by all stakeholders, the formal and
informal sectors, government
and communities.
Involve the local community by creating opportunities for them
to engage with the
process of planning for tourism development in the gambia.
Develop awareness of the positive aspects of tourism and of
ways of mitigating negative
impacts, through education within the school curriculum, and
public education initiatives
with communities,
Pay particular attention to practical strategies involving all
stakeholders to prevent the
sexual exploitation of children.
Assess social impacts in the tourism development process, and
planning, to maximise
positive impacts and minimise negative ones.
b. Maintain and encourage social and cultural diversity.
Tourism development should not compromise respect for social,
cultural and religious
rights.
Be sensitive to the host cultures of The Gambia and encourage
recognition of their
richness.
Use local guides (and encourage them to continually improve
their quality) to ensure that
the community speaks for itself and to increase the revenues
going into the local
community.
Encourage opportunities for visitors to interact with locals
as equals in a structured and
guided manner.
Develop a local social contract with participation and
contributions from the community
for interactions and behaviour between the local community and
tourists.
Negative social and cultural impacts associated with tourism
(such as increased crime,
drug and alcohol abuse, prostitution and child sex abuse) should
be monitored and action
should be taken with local communities to minimise negative
impacts and enhance
positive ones.
4. Environmental Responsibility:
The natural environment of The Gambia is an important resource
for the tourism industry; it is in
the interest of the industry that it is conserved. The tourism
industry is also a major consumer of
natural resources and its environmental impacts need to be
managed, particularly where its
impacts adversely affect other stakeholders.
a. Tourism planning policy:
We will work with government and environmental agencies to:
ensure that tourism planning policy recognises that the
natural environment is a vital
resource for the livelihoods of communities as well as being a
major tourism asset;
identify areas which should stay free of development;
identify land ownership and resource use conflicts and
mitigate them.
b. Tourism should be developed and managed so as to ensure that
it has minimal
environmental impacts.
We will:
encourage the use of environmental assessment tools to
mitigate the adverse environmental impacts of tourism
development;
raise awareness among all stakeholders about the importance of
adopting an environmentally sustainable approach and ensure the
management of waste through reducing, reusing and recycling;
encourage tourists to use recycling and other waste reduction
methods;
provide education about the importance of the natural
environment, both intrinsically and
for tourism;
identify best practice through a consultation process;
establish an environmental code of conduct and a code of
practice;
explore ways of using legislation, incentives, tax concessions
and technical assistance to ensure that tourism in the gambia
has fewer negative environmental impacts;
maintain and encourage natural diversity by encouraging
enterprises to invest a
percentage of profit or turnover in species conservation and
habitat restoration and
management; and by encouraging the development of natural
heritage attractions which
can also ensure conservation of habitats and species.
Implementation of This Policy:
The multi-stakeholder participants of the Responsible Tourism
Partnership have agreed a series
of five year targets in order to meet the objectives of this
policy. Additionally, an annual work plan
and monitoring tool has been worked up.
Some of the objectives are more appropriate to other bodies and
organisations and to subcommittees
of the Gambia Tourism Authority. These organisations, in
collaboration with the
Responsible Tourism Partnership, have been asked to implement
those aspects of this policy for
which they are responsible.
SOURCE:
The report of the SIT project carried out by
Adama Bah, Harold Goodwin and Dilys Roe outlines the
multi-stakeholder process used in The Gambia and the programme
of the STI project in 2002.
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