By Yunus S Saliu
Delivering his State of Nation Address on Thursday, 8th June 2023, President Adama Barrow said with relief that tourism is growing again steadily.
He said according to the submissions from the GTBoard, tourist arrivals picked up over the years from 89,232 in 2020 to 102,460 in 2021, and 182,795 in 2022.
“Arrivals from our traditional markets increased, except for the 10% drop from Denmark. Arrivals from the non-traditional markets increased by 47%; that is, 10,908 tourists, compared to the same period in 2021,” President Barrow said and added that the sector projects 206,558 tourists this year if all goes well.
This is encouraging, he said, the Tourism sector has, so far, recorded 95% graduate employment out of 400 annual graduates from the Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute (GTHI), while “an expansion programme in tourism and hospitality training upcountry, in partnership with the international Trade Centre under the YEP project, is earmarked for this year. Over 500 young Gambians will participate in various programmes to build capacity and create employment opportunities.”
Moving forward, he said the National Centre for Arts and Culture working with UNESCO on a Regulation for the National Endowment Fund for Arts, “When established, the Fund will finance various cultural and artistic activities, which is useful for the tourism sector. The draft Regulation is ready for validation and, thereafter, submission to Cabinet.”
To boost tourism and position The Gambia as a homecoming hub for African brothers and sisters in the Diaspora, he said The Gambia will observe the bi-centenary anniversary of the occupation of Georgetown, MacCarthy Island, by the British and the subsequent arrival of the Liberated Africans on the Island.
