By Yunus S Saliu
The welcome of the Corendon Airline from Holland and The Gambia Experience from London on Friday, 13th October 2023 has marked the official opening of the 2023/2024 winter tourism season in destination Gambia.
The two regular airlines to destination Gambia from the two traditional markets were received at the Banjul International Airport by the senior officers of the Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard).
However, the British High Commissioner – Harriet King joined the GTBoard accompanied by staff of GCAA, GTBoard, and others to receive The Gambia Experience maiden flights for the 2023 winter tourism season to the destination.
The Gambia Experience landed with 175 passengers from Gatwick London while the Corendon Airline flew in 183 passengers from Schiphol Holland to the destination.
Speaking briefly after receiving the two aircraft, FodayBah, Head of Marketing said there is a huge difference from the passenger’s; arrival this season compared to last season.
He attributed the positive differences to the engagement and marketing strategy the Gambia Tourism Board adopted to penetrate the UK market and other parts of Europe markets.
He disclosed that there will be 52 frequent flights weekly while explaining that at the start The Gambia Experience will be doing 2 flights a week but will later increase to 3 while the Corendon Airline will be flying to the destination three times a week from Holland.
Apart from the UK market, he said Holland is the second largest market for the Gambia “and we are still expecting more from Holland.”
However, he urged everybody to support the season as “tourism is everybody’s responsibility and from the Gambia Tourism Board we are making a lot of efforts to market and promote the destination.”
Commenting on accommodation and quality services at the airport, he said it is also the responsibility of the hoteliers and accommodation owners to ensure that their facilities are up to standards, while he said at present the quality service is a bit increased at the airport but still worried about having two or three flights land at the same time because of the space at the arrival hall cannot accommodate too much crowd.