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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
 Posted - 07 Dec 2005 : 22:22:21
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Eco-tourism is a vital part for Gambia's sustainable development but in many ways this option is being compromised. Until Gambiamn Experience and Monarch airline's monopoly is broken the status quo will remain the same with a European airline controlling Gambia's airspace. It's ironic if we were able to turn the clock back 200 years. It was the British who controlled the ships embarking and disembarking from the smiling coast.
Let's face facts without a radical change in policy to attract different airlines eco-tourism will not be achieved in sufficient volumes for the very much needed foreign exchange to reach the ordinary Gambian.
Peace
Sister Omega
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Peace
Sister Omega |
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Drammehkangi
Sweden
40 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2005 : 02:24:29
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The significance of tourism to the economy of The Gambia is undisputable. The benefits that the industry comes with are important for The Gambia, where it provides employment for many people, and account for a large number of the GDP. Many developing countries just like The Gambia have adopted tourism as a major development initiative.
However, as it seems today, tourism industry in The Gambia is facing two major challenges which comprises of two components; concept of tourism development and sustainable tourism development.Most people, even among tourism industry practitioners, do not understand what sustainable tourism really means and consequently, abuse of the concept is prevalent. This is true because most writer have generally ignored tourism and the service industry in a development research debate.
Sustainable Development Research Initiative (SDRI), suggests that, “sustainability requires an reconciliation of the ecological imperative to stay within the carrying capacity of the planet, the economic imperative to provide an adequate standard of living for all, and the social imperative to develop forms of governance that promote the values people want to live by”. This view have agreed with notion that Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This is where the concept of eco-tourism is drawn from, but with constant failure within the tourism development strategy to relate the concept to the theory of its parental paradigm, sustainable development. Therefore, I will argue, the type of tourism development taking place in The Gambia is far from sustainable tourism development! Yes, we need a policy check up. See
http://www.gmtourism.se/Research%20Projects.asp
Yeks
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 08 Dec 2005 : 12:41:32
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Hi Drammehkangi, that was very interesting report. I agree with the point of raising awareness amongst the local population about the long-term consequences of a fast lifestyle. The first thing that comes to mind is the carry capacity of the health sector. Especially with HIV/AIDS ,and other sexually transmitted diseases because if one can't afford to pay for medicine then you'll left to perish.
More training and development is desperately needed within the Gambian Tourist industry and real change needs to occur from the top-down as well as the bottom -up. In fact it's the bottom-up approach that will work mentioned in your report the camps up country are definitely a way forward. However there is need to balance the preservation and conservation of sustainable development of both culture and the environment. Because although foreign exchange is needed within the countryside the local people are also aware of sex tourism happening on the coast and its adverse impacts on culture they would like to preserve their cultures and also make some money to develop their physical and social infrastructure.
Another area which can be improved is more training within the industry as a whole from government to those working directly and indirectly within the industry to tweak eco-tourism to suit the countries cultural and physical landscape.
I reached the conclusion years ago that Gambians at home should be made aware of everyday life in the west, so that they can make informed decision that’s the only way that it will sink into the youth’s heads that all that glitters isn’t gold. The container mentality needs to stop and more investment into Human Resources through education and training needs to occur to put an end to sexual exploitation and immigrant deprivation as a consequence of sun, sand and sex. Because sex can only take an individual so far in life it is more important for Gambian children to nurture their brains than to blight their futures for a pair of trainers and a mobile phone. The harmful thing about this is the cohesion from adults who are basically facilitating sexual slavery again as I pointed out what has changed in the past 200 years. Before children and young adults were openly kidnapped to join coffles of interior Africa to the coast either because of war or to service debts. Now child refugees and Gambian are being forced to sell their bodies to put food on the table, or fulfill their parents or guardians dreams of sending home the foreign exchange so that they can keep up with their neighbors. Where is the morality in all of this? I wonder. Gambia needs to restore her dignity and embrace a model of tourism that will benefit her future generations and make them flourish not one that will bring them to the brink of extinction.
Peace
Sister Omega
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Peace
Sister Omega |
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Drammehkangi
Sweden
40 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2005 : 02:03:51
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Tourism has appeared to be a mechanism for economic development with potentials for investment opportunities, that few governments can afford to ignore. The industry itself does not control all the factors that make up the attractiveness of a destination and its impacts on the host population, which can be considerable. It thus requires a policy frame work in place for controlling and regulating its development. The policy frame work should thereafter embrace the factors essential for development to be used as guidelines in the development process. These factors can be divided into primary and secondary factors. The primary factors; main determinants of whether tourists will visit a given destination, are tourist attractions themselves, such as uniqueness, animal and plant species, fauna and flora, physical features like beautiful beaches, mountains, lakes, and rivers, pleasant climate and unique culture. The secondary factors includes infrastructure and other supporting facilities, such as protection and development of tourist sites, conservation of infrastructure such as roads, communication, hotels, camp sites, water, and other services, and the marketing of tourism products. Policies have a big role to play in the development of secondary factors of tourism development, which have always been foriegn own or managed.
The lack of proper implementation of tourism development policies in The Gambia have led to the ample supply of problems faced today. Added to the fact that, the regular restructuring of the various ministries responsible for tourism, has also added to more problems in tourism policy implementation. IMF’s assessment of The Gambia suggests that:
“.... tourism is a dynamic sector in the economy, with considerable potential for further
growth and development creation. The government assigns high importance to the
creation of a conducive environment for private sector investor.....” (IMF, 1999).
This kind of development is geared towards encouraging more foreign investors. Thus the main beneficiaries of the popular three year tax holiday, duty waivers and exemption from custom duties, sales tax and turn over tax, often stipulated in the investor’s guide, are for foreign investors. This seems to have created the foreign dominance situation in Gambia’s tourism industry, thus creates the situation for financial leakages, giving the impression that resources are uncontrolled, hence overused. In such a business environment there is bond to be a lack of control over the volume and nature of tourism development, which can lead to a country’s dependence on foreign products, foreign investment, and foreign skills. Thus the development becomes contradictory to the concept of sustainable development. Economic dependant on tourism may cause serious problems for economic development, foreign economic leakage, domestic social dissatisfaction and resentment. Because of high dependency on foreign investment, the promotion and marketing of tourism product will also be under the control of overseas tour operators and travel enterprises, and in order to maximise profits they mainly promote inclusive tour packages, just as it is today.This is also contradictory to the concept of sustainable development. It can thus be argued here that tourism in The Gambia is characterised by an unplanned and haphazard development forms of tourism and tourism facilities due to lack of inappropriate land use policies and regulations governing the allocation and distribution of tourism resources. Unless appropriate measures are taken, there is risk that the tourism development strategies adopted in the country can fail to achieve its objectives.
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Nyancho
Switzerland
22 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2005 : 14:20:48
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I agree with Drammeh that the kind of tourism development taking place in Gambia is far from being sustainable.While more and more hotels are being built,the possibility of attracting more tourists is largely left in hands of Tour operators.Tourism is an expensive venture which requires strategic
policy planning and imlpentation,The Gambain government is definetely not doing enough to promote the destination as it should be.If Eco Tourism should be seen and promoted as an alternative,emphasis must be given to the preservation of the enviroment and the authensity of certain settlements and the lifestyles of the local people.restoration of historical places like at James island and albreda is essentially important. |
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2005 : 22:17:26
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Drammeh I would say in reality Gambia is failing to reach sustainable development objectives because there has not been sufficient investment within the Human Resources sector of Gambian Tourism period.
The main players and stakeholders who have leverage are still the major European Tour operator who has the monopoly of both Dry and Wet season. The one and only Gambian Experience. They also have the majority of the share of the tickets from Monarch airlines so what really has changed? Gambian Experience isBritish register company that their clients book through them they place their trust in them, and stay in hotels endorsed by them, get chauffuered around in their air conditioned coaches and spend all the many in their hotels. So tell me how much has really changed?
The complacency and accommodation of the Gambian host community of this parastistical company Gambian Experience just allows it to grow richer and stronger like a tumour which has completely taken over its host's body. This is Great for the tumour but very grave for the host. The British Treasury must love this informal form of stalf tax it acquires from such a patriotic company as Gambian Experience. Who year after year without fail keep contributing the British Treasury giving the Chancellor of the Exchequer more money to play with. Gambia is being so generous in returning it's money back to the UK. The Uk is getting it's money back without having to directly tax the Gambian people for it anymore because Gambian Experience has the Gambian government of a barrel because it still keeps the majority of foreign exchange err marked for Gambia and returns it back to their former colonial master free of charge. Who can in turn spend that money on more schools more hospitals etc etc Can't you see Gordon Brown laughing all the way to the bank?
Withoutfreeing up the industry to diversify into credible sustainable development and once and for all pull the bull by the horns and surpass the fear and break up the monopoly of Gambian Experience and monarch airlines over Gambian aereospace. Then Eco-tourism will be a lofty ideal.
For the Gambia has one major all year around Tour Operator compared to Gambia Jamaica which has around 10,000. It's a pity that the report you sent in Drammeh didn't focus on the neo-colonial aspect of unsustainable tourism in Gambia, after all the sun, sea and sex model falls within the negative cycle of that paradigm.
Peace
Sister Omega. |
Peace
Sister Omega |
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Drammehkangi
Sweden
40 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2005 : 01:18:01
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Glad to read such an observation.It is a pitty, for quite a long time the authorities cannot see this simplicity Siter Omega illustrated here. But, you see, there is a distinction between developing and developed countries in aspects of development, and that is the role of government whose fiscal policies may encourage or hider development. The reason why international tour operators are doing what they are doing is that they have gain monopoly, encouraged by fiscal polocies in poor Gambia.
To accelerate the level of this dominance, strategies adopted in The Gambia is mainly to attract increasing foreign capital investment, through financial incentives through favourable fiscal policies for capital investment, which encourages only profit repatriation. Thats all what the capitalists are interested in, and nothing else. European tour operators account for about 80 per cent of holiday visits in The Gambia. This situation shows the dependency of Gambian tourism on organisations operating in the international tourism industry who have sought informal arrangements with local ground operators in The Gambia as a way of expanding their businesses. Poor policy implementations has compounded the situation and, as a result, Gambia's Tourism is yet to met earlier promises of extend development at the speed light. Am saying, these capitalist who are taking ownership of the industry have come to stay to get loaded with money. Yes, the lophole is in the plocies! no guided protectice measures at national interst.
The international tour operator, just like The Gambia Experience, are mainstream or mass-market operators that generates a large percentage of their turnover by selling a mainstream product (generally, the sea, sun and sand) to a large customer base. Their market calculatively forced our local operators to be at the niche market, serving a very much smaller customer base with often highly specialised products. Local operators, are relatively poorly represented in The Gambia. Yes, the good sister got it right, "The Uk is getting it's money back without having to directly tax the Gambian people..." |
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2005 : 02:15:21
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Hi Drammeh in reality these European Tour Operators have got the Gambian government over a barrel administrating cat & nine tails.* Therefore in practice even though government may want to implement ethical policies these monopolizers will use there financial clout by manipulating the government into submission as was the case in 1994 after the coup. Ok these were exceptional circumstances but nevertheless the British demonstrated that they could easily damage Gambia's tourist industry.
However just like shell in Nigeria with its unethical policies, it wasn't until the British public witnessed shells draconian policies on the televisions, and with Ken Siwa and other Ogoni people demonstrating in cynic with the Nigerian community in the Diaspora and friends that real action was taken by the British public after Ken's unlawful killing by Abacha cronies. That the British public demonstrated on mass by boycotting shells pumps. Which caused Shell to radically adopt ethical policies.
With NGO's such as Tourist Corncern who have protested about Gambian Experience in the past and return visitors to Gambia who are aware of Gambian Experience unhealthy monopoly would like to and try to find alternative ways to travel to the destination. But unfortunately with GIA folded there are no other carriers flying during rainy season to the region.
Without proper legislation within Gambia to implement a legislation to prevent unethical monopolies through an equivalent Mergers and Monopolises Commission to prevent these multinational companies hording foreign exchange flowing into the country this loophole will continue, and there is no reason for it except for the priviledge few to capitalise on the backs of the poor.
A Monopoly and Mergers Commission can exist within a tax-free zone. If government continues to allow this loop-hole to continue it has no one other than itself to blame by accommodating this parastical relationship. Anyone would think that Gambia is so rich to throw away 80% of its tourist revenue which the country desperately needs.
This again comes to the crunch of the matter of Gambian Human Resource Development and capacity building and genuine will to make the necessary changes need to implement, monitor and evaluate this policy and not just formulate nice sounding words.
Peace
Sister Omega
*( A whip split into nine parts and applied to a slave tied to a barrel or a prisoner. With ever lash they would receive nine stripes to tear up their flesh the pain induced would make them piss onto the barrel. This used to be common corpral punishment in the British colonies.) |
Peace
Sister Omega |
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ylowe
USA
217 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2005 : 07:26:48
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| We might want to invite the Minister of tourism (Waffa )to this forum because there is alot to learn from what you guys are talking about. Good job guys and lets continue to educate our people. It is not an easy job but better education will help gambians ratinalize better and make better choices and decisions. |
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Nyancho
Switzerland
22 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2005 : 11:58:40
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| After going through your rather fair observations of the state of Tourism in the Gambia,i am also of the opinion that the country is not benefitting much,while the larger share of the cake is being controlled by the multinationals,Gambians atmost,can only contend themselves with low-key jobs at most hotels.My question however is,(1)are there any possibilities to change that?(2)How can the locals particularly those within certain communities whose lives are directly impacted by tourists and their activities,fairly benefit?Is mass tourism the way forward for the sustainance of Gambias tourism? |
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Drammehkangi
Sweden
40 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2005 : 16:03:48
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Nyancho, your opinion is well shared. I think all the contributors have agreed that The Gambia is not benefiting much (if at all)from tourism. The way to change that is spell out in our attitude towards work (in the sense, not putting national interest first), tollerance, knowledge, motivation and willingness to accept facts.
Over the years, researchers has point out detrimental environmental and socio-economic and cultural effects as of tourism, and has come to be viewed as one of the most contentious issues surrounding the industry. Well, what we listen to, is just the fine lines often stipulated in research articles, and reports concerning the significance and imporatnce of tourism in national economic development. Another issue, is the contractal game between authorities and foreign consultants, pretending that they are giving us solutions, while infact most of them are collaborators with the exploiters to further extend that stance of exploitation and dominance. For years we are still dwelling in that kind of realtionship with foreign consultants, seemingly acting as agents of international cooperations.There must be investment in training and research to effect change. Summing it up, a sound national tourism policy geared towards national interest is what is needed. I see no reason why the present situation cannot be change.
Enclave forms of tourism development suggest that specific infrastructure is not intended to benefit directly the resident-indigenous community. Bah and Godwin 2001; 2003, put increased emphasis on Pro-poor tourism practices with observations on issues relating to sustainability in the economic, environmental and social arenas in poor communities. More attention should be given to developing and promoting tourism in a way that is sustainable in the long term involving local communities in decision making. A review of the development of tourism in The Gambia and its contribution to the Gross National Produce gives an indication of its importance relative to other economic sectors. Thus the importance of tourism to the economy of the country is a clear manifestation for efforts to make it sustainable. In essence proper planning is needed.The Kenya experience is a classical example, when Akama, 1999; Kareithi, 2003 both described the declining tourism industry in Kenya as a consequence of over dependant and unplanned tourism development. The problem with ours is that, attention is rarely paid to the relationship between tourism and other economic sectors and other alternative developmental strategies. All what we know is that, tourism is significant, period! Already, agriculture, which used to be the backbone of the economy in The Gambia, has loss labour to the industry with seemingly more glamorous jobs. The Gambia is highly dependent on agriculture and the production of groundnut as a cash crop, a sector which is gradually showing decline and could no more cater for sustaining the economic development of the country. Local communities have also lost a large part of their farm land to tourism development activities, followed by mass migration of youths from farming communities to the tourism develoment areas. The landscapes are remodelled and ecologically degraded by mass tourism... creating great pressure on local resources such as energy, food, land and water and has a negative impact on biodiversity, and competing with wildlife for habitat and natural resources,” (GTA,2004). But, no instead of focusing our attention to that revelation, we are just stocked to the idea that tourism is significant.It is against this background that a proper investigation of the tourism development process in the Gambia is highly needed.
Sustainability suggests integration and strategies for economic balances and that the perceptions and interests of local communities must be considered in any development initiatives. For instance, Bah and Goodwin (2003) reports in the context of The Gambia that tour operator fears over health and safety liabilities, may mean that they do not recommend fresh juice sold on the beach, despite high standards on the part of the new juices’ sellers’ organisation. This gives the impression that agricultural produce from local farmers and gardeners in The Gambia will not be adequately utilised in the tourism industry. Therefore, the abandoning of local products from which local communities should have directly benefited from is apparent.To sustain a meaningful tourism industry, directions in tourism, fisheries and agriculture must be mutually beneficial. The achievement of a strategy thrust for traditional sectors namely agriculture and fisheries will provide more stability to the economy. So, an effective change will be, integrating the tourism industry with other economic sectors in order to minimise the economic imbalances´thereby spreading the much talked about benefits of tourism.
On the question of mass tourism, I will argue that focusing only on the negative impacts of tourism development will led to some rejections of the phenomena. However, observing the trend with tourism, (if properly plan)mass tourism could be managed successfully. The increasing demand for active holidays, (even in contrast to the sun, sea and sand beach holiday)will be in the increase, suggesting that mass tourism have come to continue (maybe in a more responsible fashion). The increasing health and fitness awareness, more disposable incomes and free time encouraged the take up of a wide range of holidays. Such characteristics can encourage people to travel more. Travel propensity would be expected to grow in developed economies. Consequently, there will be a a move away from the traditional service type of accommodation provided by hoteliers and guests houses to a more flexible and functional forms giving more weight to the development of large resorts.An optimistic view is that, with high demand in travel, larger resorts will carry more economic advantage as supposed to small scale tourism (I mean in well planned economies).
For example Scheyven (2002) cited Xu’s description of a Chinese seaside resort, Beidaile (population of 55,000) attracting approximately 6 million visitors in 1990, yet it was almost unknown to foreigners. This resort according to Scheyvens, was only available for the privileged, but with political change in China, she illustrated that there has been increasing interest form large numbers of Chinese in domestic travel...“People have gained numerous economic benefits from the growth of tourism in the area” In a similar situation, Smith is cited in Foley and Reid (1998), who gives account of the Suffers Coastal Resort on the Gold Coast in Australia; according to Smith in Foley and Reid, The Gold Coast and its urbanised hinterland, has become one of the most rapidly growing regions in Australia owing to mass tourism. Another example, is a study conducted in Namibia, Ashley and Roe in Scheyvens (1998) found that the informal sector linked with tourism, for example the sale of firewood and vegetables provided means of livelihood for the poor…they reported that the people did not need capital, nor skills in order to communicate in foreign languages to make them participate in tourism business activities. The spread of the economic benefits within communities dictates that when catering for the budget tourists, the market will not usually require community members to have any formal qualifications, rather they can develop skills on the job. Large scale resorts, could serve as an alternative employment instrument, and provide direct and indirect incomes to the local communities. Thus mass tourism have not merely responded in negative impacts, many positive impacts where also put forward as important parts of economic activity in some areas. |
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2005 : 18:24:56
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I think it's one thing researching but another thing put what has been learnt into practice. The crux of the problem as far as the industry is concerned is how many people have been educated in Travel and Tourism Development who are at present to manage such an important portfolio? And if they have been then why after the implementation of Eco-Tourism Policy first introduced in Gambia in 2001, and subquently changed to an Ethical Tourism Policy in 2004. Why is it still the case that the most prominent European Tour Operator is benefitting more than anyone else.
Tourist need to be informed about how they themselves are being ripped off by the hotels. For example last week a party of thirty went to Gambia they believed so much about the propaganda they had read from the Tour operator. That they only went out of their hotel with the Tour operators guides, only took their excursions in their air conditioned coaches,and spent the whole week eating chicken and chips for 300D per head. Towards the week's end the children within the party were dying to eat proper Gambian food. They begged one of the adult's they knew from Britain who was staying locally to take them out with her to get some food. That's when their group leaders realised that they had been guillible to be ripped off by the Tour Operator all week.
In comparison the Tourism Policy for Britain is Eco-tourism which in reality means once you can get a visa to come here : Go where you want to, stay where you want too and spend as money locally where you want too, and Come back again!
Peace
Sister Omega
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Peace
Sister Omega |
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Drammehkangi
Sweden
40 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2005 : 22:16:13
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We can't just say it better. Generally, many professionals in The Gambia, (and infact the industry worldwide)does view the field of travel and tourism as worthy of academic endaveavor. The reason is that, historical origins of hotels and tourism enterprises lies in the class of private ownership and owner managed. Most of the time, it is the experience employed and not qualifications. This the category of the faith of the industry in The Gambia.
It has been suggested that hospitality industry employment tend to be couched in terms of the attractiveness of such works.Therefore many people in this industry have such come to top positions through the informal way, either through own investment or having worked there for a very long time. People come to hospitality and tourism management careers by a range of routes; those with formal training in hospitality and tourism fields or in related fields, those trained for management within the industry after starting in craft positions and advanced on the job promotion, and those who have an early career in another industry followed by late entry to the industry. The later fits well those acting as athorities in the field of tourism today in The Gambia. Although we have some well qualified people in positions of authority, but most of the time from outside the decipline of tourism and hospitality mangement.
Tourism is a subject area of its own, therefore training people in this decipline would help decision makers in making the right decisions in tourism development initiatives. For example, appraising a project proposal for the development of a large hostality complex requires skills ourder than subjective views.It will require someone with skills to address the fundamental issues within the analytical framework of applied welfare economics,using appropriate discounting methods, for instance Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA). The opportunity cost principle of discounting is also important to consider in such analysis. The discount rate should reflect what society forgoes elsewhere if it uses certain resources for a period of time in a certain project, for example the land to be occupied for this project could have been used for agricultural purposes. It is an important point to note, hence the notion “situation with out that project”. In strict economic terms, CBA judge actions based on the objective of efficiency of resources allocation, and requires that resources are allocated to their next highest productive use or value.The stand point of Government in representing the interests of its citizens will therefore be a focal point in such instances, because some of the activities within some projects will certainly not be adding value to the economy or welfare of the people. Government’s interest will therefore be to safeguard the welfare of its citizens. In general terms, raising the standard of living for the people. It is thus clair that, a person in authority as such must be knowledgeable about the business environment and the circumstances surrounding that particular domain of operation. As noted, hospitality and tourism is a subject area of its own, with its own accounting, marketing, economics, human resource management, environmental management, finance and other operational systems. There is little chance for any authority with little knowledge of hospitality and tourism business environment to fix such a scenario in a satisfactorily way. This is one of reasons why the importance of hospitality and tourism management education has now been recognised worldwide. |
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 11 Dec 2005 : 23:24:04
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I agree with your points Drammeh and would like to add that Cost Benefit Analysis goes hand in with EnvironmentalImpact Assessments. For example with more hotels on the beach fronts in Gambia, raw sewage is being pumped into the sea, creating coral reef damage which in turns reduces the natural protection of coral reefs protecting the coast against flooding. With more tourists coming producing waste, as you're Gambia is already finding it difficult to dispose of it. This is a problem which the government is yet to satisfactorily solve in a sustainable way. The dilemma with the decline in the agricultural sector where there is still ample room for diversification. For example in St Lucia in the early 90's they were able to set up initatives whereby local farmers directly supplied the hotels with local produce. Thus creating more work within the local communities. Such initiatives will help to rejuvenate the local agrarian economies and help to boost the Gambian countryside because outermigration from villages both in Gambia and the subregion have been damaged their demography by purging local coomunities of their youth by providing an escape root from toiling the soil to make a fortune at tourist centres. That's why a holistic approach to tourism is necessary. It seems that Tourist Development so far has soley weighed up cost benefits at the top end of the industry in monetary terms only relying on the trickle down effect to appease the natives . I think it's also government's responsibility, to provide a conducive environment for job creation for the local population who work within the industry to create a springboard for them to diversify into other sectors of the economy which needs to develop coupled with better labour rights to prevent expliotation of the industry's workers.
Peace
Sister Omega
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Peace
Sister Omega |
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Drammehkangi
Sweden
40 Posts |
Posted - 12 Dec 2005 : 00:42:34
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This brings us to the challenges our industry is facing, one that of a policy problem. An important criterion by which tourism policy could be appraised is by evaluating its contribution to the factors required to support development. They are instruments to deal with challenges and consequently foster development. For this reason tourism policies cannot be properly analysed and evaluated if there is no understanding of the challenges that the industry faces.
To sum up our discussion on this issue, it is possible to draw out some key challenges the industry is facing in The Gambia.
• Poor or inadequate infrastructure, communications, and human resources problems
• Constraints such as the industry’s high insensitivity to economic imbalances
with other economic sectors
• Undeveloped public–private sector partnerships
• Insufficient knowledge and information on tourism trends and impacts
• Highly vunerable for economic leakage
• uqualified labour force
• Environmental degradation
• Stiff competition from external investors
• Insufficient and weak institutional and regulatory frameworks
Ceratinly, the Tourism policy in the country could be evaluated by its response to these challenges. It would help to assess whether the policies have achieved the objectives they were formulated for. They could therefore be appraised on the basis of how closely it steers the industry towards the development path considered socially, culturally, and environmentally sustainable. Tourism projects should therefore be appraised on the basis of not only economic feasibility but also social, cultural and environmental sustainability. Likewise, be appraised on the basis of its contribution to sustainable tourism development.
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 12 Dec 2005 : 01:07:13
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Drammeh Yes I agree with your summation of the evaluation process of the Sustainable Tourism Development Strategy. In conclusion GTA needs to proceed with an evaluation process in order to bring forward those aims and objectives outlined in the evaluation with a long-term view of twenty-five years in mind. As you are aware that Sustainable development policies have a longer life span than party political policies and it is within context that government needs to address a Sustainable Tourism Development Strategy targets for the above evaluation as we have identified to be obtained. This obviously can be brought in different time phases.
Peace
Sister Omega |
Peace
Sister Omega |
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