By Kemo Kanyi
The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (MOTAC) on Wednesday concluded a two-day dialogue with tourism stakeholders to discuss achievements, challenges, and the way forward in the industry ahead of the upcoming winter tourism season.
The forum was held at the Paradise Suites Hotel, Kololi, and attended by government officials, and hotel owners alongside other stakeholders across the tourism sector countrywide.
Among other discourses at the forum were the promotion of culture, investment in tourism, marketing, health, and sanitation, and the provision of a reliable strong security unit across the TDA to attract more tourists and make them secure in the destination.
Honorable Abdoullie Jobe, the Gambia Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture of The Gambia, acknowledged the important role the dialogue will play during the tourism season.
“We will forward your discussion to the cabinet, there are very insightful ideas that came out of this meeting. The Gambia Tourism Board will use those ideas to formulate our budget so that we are responsive to your needs. That’s the only way we can move the sector positively. You can also use these responses to hold us to account. We don’t just want to sit in the office and give directives,” the Minister iterated.
He noted that the forum was organized to shift the paradigm by allowing stakeholders to set the pace for the ministry and its institutions, allowing them to catch up with stakeholders.
Therefore, he promised, “We would do our very best to achieve the aims and objectives in collaboration with you.”
Isatou Drammeh, Deputy Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, stated that the forum was fruitful in identifying problems faced by the sector.
“The dialogue outlined the significance of collaboration among government officials, private sector representatives, local communities, and international partners. We have openly and candidly debated the current state of our tourism sector, expressed our worries, and shared our aspirations for the future. We have informed of the advancement achieved to recognize the challenges we currently encounter,” she expressed.
However, she continued, the shared dedication to identifying solutions has been encouraging, “Together, we can establish a tourism industry that is both sustainable and resilient, benefitting not only our economy but also our people and the environment,” she confidently admitted.
Most of the key highlights of the event came from the working groups in identified areas of improvement and solution drafting.
