We seek to grow the industry by attracting market segments which value the natural and cultural heritage assets of the gambia. Gambia holidays teaching abroad holidays volunteer travel holidays. Surrounded by senegal, the gambia has a mere 80km of coastline, but what a magnificent stretch it encompasses. The gambias capital city of banjul, sitting on an island where the gambia river meets the atlantic, is the countrys largest metropolitan area and a common destination for tourists and international volunteers. The dpwm aims to have 5% of the land area protected in the future. Since then, charlotte has been fascinated by this sector and has written newspaper and travel articles on it and organised debates and talks on the subject. International tourism ranks fourth after fuels, chemicals and automotive products in global exports.
In the recently published document of the gambia tourism authority, the total amount of expenditure by tourist in the previous season amounts to 1. Charlotte is waiting for her two young daughters to be old enough to volunteer with her. Gambia tourism board tourist information center kotu. The ttag has since expanded to include other sectors of the tourist industry such as restaurants, bars, leisure equipment hirers and shops. Pdf the possible negative impacts of volunteer tourism. The gambia is a wellestablished winter sun tourism destination with 110,800 international arrivals in 2005. Volunteer work in gambia, west africa safari guide. Travel as a volunteer west africa, serrekunda, western, gambia. The first tourist flight arrived in the gambia from sweden in 1965. Opportunities in conservation, medical, health, building, teaching. Volunteer work in gambia, west africa home gap year charity work and adventure travel. Volunteer tourism has also been linked to social movements by providing tourists with the social networks and a consciousnessraising experience that are important to participation in a movement mcgehee and santos, 2005. It is a life changing experience for students to use the trip as part of their school year volunteering.
In addition, the western and central parts of africa now have an excellent guide in the birds of western africa by borrow and demey which covers the gambia and senegal. The agriculturally fertile country, dominated by farming, fishing, and tourism has its capital in banjul. The countrys main geographical feature is the river gambia. The republic of the gambia commonly referred to as the smiling coast of africa, is situated in the western region of africa. Gambia tourism board dream park, pmb 4085 kotu, western, gambia rated 4. This is a short video presentation of our work and a program travel as a volunteer which is changing lives of individuals in the gambia and all who visited the smiling coast of africa, the gambia. General introduction the gambia is a small country located in subsaharan africa along the west coast. Indeed they suggest that volunteer tourism outsources the responsibilities of cultivating global citizenship onto the south. I have visited the gambia on a couple of occasions and decided, if possible, that i would like to do this there. The gambia may be the smallest country on the continent, but its captivating array of attractions belies its tiny size.
It is bounded by senegal to the north, south and east, and the atlantic ocean to the. Tourism and overseas remittances also contribute to its economy. New volunteering opportunities in the gambia 15 july 20 the gambia experience press office the gambia experience has joined forces with the awardwinning volunteer organisation, people and places in order to offer designated volunteering programmes for those who wish to spend four weeks or more assisting charitable projects in the gambia. A travellers guide to making a difference around the world. Go volunteer gambia fully supported group volunteering holidays in the gambia, africa. Travelling as volunteer is a great opportunity for traveling and giving back on your vacation in africa. Tourism contributes to 67 percent of total employment. The gambia and senegal are well covered by field guides. The gambia volunteers trust gvt is a registered international voluntary organisation.
Tourism training one of the major criticisms of the tourist industry is that, as a service provision, much of the employment tends to be menial, low skilled and low paid, in the gambia, while most of the lowskilled jobs such as cleaners, waiters and recreation organizers are in the hands of local. Despite having a fairly rudimentary, if steadily improving, road system and little in the way of public transport, the gambia is a very easy country to navigate. The gambia is considered to be a small country with an approximate land area of 11,295 square kilometers and is located on the western coast of africa. The gambia volunteers works closely with universities and colleges to offer educational trips to the gambia. The population density of gambia has been around 176. Education volunteering in the gambia responsible travel. If you have ever wanted to make a real difference, yet you also want to combine helping out people who are less fortunate than yourself with real adventure travel in africa, then maybe taking a gap year to do some volunteer charity work in the gambia.
Having booked a first time holiday to the gambia, and faced with so many questions, especially regarding vaccinations, i purchased numerous travel guide books and spent hours with internet research. A field guide to the birds of the gambia and senegal by barlow et al and birds of senegal and the gambia by borrow and demey both cover these countries. The tourism and travel association was originally formed as the association of ground tour operators to ensure the safe passage of visitors in the gambia. Tourism accounts for 30 percent of the worlds exports of commercial services. The tourism industry today in the gambia started when a party of 300 swedish tourists arrived in 1965. The way in which the gambia is marketed is a central part of the process of implementing responsible tourism principles in the gambia. Please can anyone recommend any volunteer projects, preferably with very cheapfree food. Almost all tourists are holidaymakers and 84% are on holiday packages that generally include flights, transfers and bed and breakfast accommodation in a hotel. That pioneering trip was organised by a swede named bertil harding together with the tour operators vingresor. The possible negative impacts of volunteer tourism article pdf available in international journal of tourism research 116. Since then, tourist arrivals to the gambia have grown steadily to a high of more than 100,000 in the 1990s.
It was seen as an ideal place to escape the harsh winter months of scandinavia where europeans would enjoy not only sun, sand and beaches but also experience the excitement of a real. Unwto world tourism barometer and statistical annex, september 2019. Documents and settingsslrobbinsmy documentsgambian. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Almost all tourists are holidaymakers and 84% are on holiday packages that generally include. Volunteer tourism is a comprehensive and comparative study of the perspectives of thai host community members, ngo practitioners and international volunteer tourists. Destination management organizations dmo are often the only advocates for a holistic tourism industry in a place. Holiday tourism information visit the gambia gambia. Your excellency, the benefits and challenges of tourism to the gambia.
Government, culture and economy tourist destination, gambia tourism. Volunteer tourism in the us, six continents and marriott hotels, disney world, the grand prix, the. Documents and settingsslrobbinsmy documentsgambian studies no. The literature also suggests that the volunteer tourism experience continues to influence the tourist posttrip lepp, 2008. Embassy of the republic of the gambia and permanent mission to the european union doing business in the gambia, an introduction march 2009 page 2 of 11 1. The gambia has no organised systems for waste disposal litter is an ongoing probelm, especially the ubiquitous plastic bags. Although we can do little to change the national problems, our local partner team includes a professional ecd educator, who has established an environmental educational resource for preschools and trainee educators called greenie. The president of the republic of the gambia, state house, fajara. Volunteer tourism assumes significance because of how politics and development have become reorientated around projects of therapeutic selfrealisation as opposed to national material transformation. In the evenings you might wish to stay in your hotel and enjoy evening entertainment or you could try venturing out to explore the myriad of restaurants and bars. The book thus shines an ethnographic lens onto the complexities and contradictions of the volunteer tourism experience in northern thailand.
1088 1092 1461 1421 823 1393 1437 756 82 1118 1209 154 1511 1409 1326 123 569 589 479 677 1085 242 844 367 139 1526 992 445 910 1111 903 1413 1449 1437 1457 611 354 800