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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Dec 2005 : 21:13:54
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Good question, I suppose it depends on how you choose to travel if you travel in tourist taxes then you are going to be charge alot of money per mile. But if you travel in local Gambian taxes with local people then you pay local rates, and for long distances you can travel in bush taxes which are inexpensive than hiring a taxi for yourself.
Anyway I'll hand this question over to Drammehkangi for a more indepth explanation. Another tip is to strike up a deal with a local taxi driver, and maybe you can bargain for a good price. Maybe there are some brothers and sisters in Gambia who can join in the debate and give some more suggestion or a few contacts for you next trip.
Peace
Sister Omega. |
Peace
Sister Omega |
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Babylon
Sweden
691 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2005 : 23:55:51
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quote:
Originally posted by gambiabev
THE BEACH
As an English person who has been coming to The Gambia for 2 years i am VERY concerned about the human rights of local Gambian people at the beach.
I stayed at Palm Beach in December and the increased and heavy handed security distressed me. Local people were being intimidated from going to the beach. They werent allowed to walk on the beach or bathe.
It is making life very difficult for people who are already poor and struggling. One Gambia was taken away by security guards for 2 days. He was beaten up and starved. His crime? Coming to my hotel to meet me to go for a walk on the beach. He wsnt taken to court and wasnt charged with any crime. If The Gambia wants to be a democracy this has got to stop!
The BEST thing about the Gambia is the lovely, friendly people. I have been very fortunate to have been invited into peoples' villages and compounds. I have been treated like part of the family. This has made my visit to The Gambia 100% more rewarding and interesting. SO much more than just a beach holiday. I dont want to be imprisoned in my hotel. only able to spend money in my hotel. I want to go to local bars and restaurants. I want to shop in local supermarkets and markets. I want to buy things in village shops. I want to get out into the community and the countryside.
In order to do all that you need to meet local people to be your guide. How do you do that if they arent allowed to talk to you???
IF a bumster is a nuisance that pesters too much or steals then that should become a police issue and they should be charged in a court. BUT please dont punish ALL locals at the beach because a few are bad!
I am REALLY interested to know what local people think.
Hi!
I suppose the security guards are trying to limit the ongoing prostitution on the beaches and around the hotel areas, that is why they drive away the bumsters.
Then of course it´s not a good thing if it affects other locals besides the beachboys. After all, it is their country and should feel free to walk where ever they please. And certainly should not get beaten up by the guards, that sounds awful. But even that doesn´t really surprise me, with the Jammeh government anything can happen. Unfortunately. |
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 21 Dec 2005 : 00:52:36
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Hi Babylon,
the example you posted in is a classic example of the adverse impacts of mass tourism policy.
There obviously needs to be a balance between the freedom of the local people to roam their local beaches and the visitors who have come to enjoy the space they have paid to experience. The example you have given is not a beneficial advertisement for the country's ethical tourism policy. Neither are unemployed youth harrassing people for money etc. So there needs to be an improvement in practice of giving visitors a wider choice of accommodation in Gambia for them to stay in. This is why self catering and rent accommodation sectors needs to be made more readily accessible to people visiting Gambia. So that they can opt out of mass tourism model.
Again this is down to consumer power the visitor who witnessed the experience of this local man's treatment, and feeling like a prisoner in the hotel should make an official complaint refusing to stay in the hotel in future because of the treatment of her guest who had come to visit her received.
After all three years ago tourist complained about being harrassed by unemployed youth on the beach and official tourist guides were brought and more police and or soliders were stationed on the beach. This was done due to the rise of tourist complaints and measures were introduced which curtailed Bumster freedom. If more tourist complain about such incidences as witnessed by Gambiabev then, they can help to influence change to readdress the balance.
Peace
Sister Omega.
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Peace
Sister Omega |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 21 Dec 2005 : 11:01:22
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I have complained to Action aid and to Gambia experience. I have stayed at badala park and palm beach as part of a large group that go out to the villages around tendada. I am staying at bungalow beach next time. But whilst there I am going to look for self catering accommodation for further visits.
You dont have to visit gambia with gambiaexperience. For first time visitors they are excellent. Very professional and well organised. But in general people should be encouraged to buy as little as possible as part of the package and pay their money in Gambia for accommodation and food and tours.
From the north of england there is a flight with first choice. You can buy flight only from various web sites. I used skybargains..i think! Then pay for everything else in Dls.....
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Drammehkangi
Sweden
40 Posts |
Posted - 22 Dec 2005 : 02:18:54
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Mass tourism characterised by features of high volume, large scale, enclave forms of tourism development has been criticised for the degree of external control and for failing to deliver on promised economic benefits while causing severe social disruptions (Britton; Rodenburg; O’Grady in Pears, 1989).“The BEST thing about the Gambia is the lovely, friendly people”... but, "aren’t allowed to talk to you???”. Certainly, this is definately not what the smiling coast advocates. The Gambia is among the poorest countries in the world, a favourite destination for many tourists and not just for its tropical climate, unsophisticated charm and easy reach, but also because of its people and there cultures. The country is reputable to be one of the most peaceful and socially stable countries in Africa. We are even suggesting that, the hospitality and friendliness of the people should be used as a marketing tool for the industry in The Gambia. Tourism is now acknowledged to be a social phenomenon (Page, 2003), therefore many people can be motivated to travel in order to meet new people, or people they already know.
The Gambia is a poor country in terms of resources, but the hospitality and friendliness of its people is a well known phenomena. A study by the author in Sweden, shows that some repeat customers come back to The Gambia because of friends they learn to know on a previous visit. One respondent in that study claimed to have visited The Gambia consecutively 20 times! Fifty three percent of respondents in that study are very motivated to visit The Gambia because of its friendly people. Lagerkvist, (1999) also notes that the African community is the attraction in Africa and travel where tourist can live and mixed with the local people is an example of the concepts that many tourists are interested in. This is what international tour operators don’t want to entertain in The Gambia, and whilst bumsters are trying to engage tourists by introducing them to Gambian culture and traditions, food and people, their ambitions and objectives are contradicted with hard realities. Government have installed security personnel around the tourism development area with the intention to stop the hustling and harassing of tourist by the locals, with little understanding that it is not “bumsing” that is the problem but the “concept” of bumsing. Contrary to the type tourism development taking place in The Gambia, Urry, (1990) suggests that tourism is about experience and this why people are increasingly seen attracted by representations of the ordinary.
Understanding the host nation’s perception of tourism is fundamental to tourism planning and development. This lack of understanding of the tourism system goes far beyond blaming local communities, but the apparatus put in place that triggers the need for the presence of loiters around the beaches. The Gambia is yet to develop its tourism product adequately, inorder to spread the benefits of tourism. A suggestion put forward by Hunt in Sharply, (2000)is that, attention is rarely paid to the relationship between tourism and other economic sectors and the alternative developmental strategies, which seems true in the case of The Gambia. Ohare and Evans, 1995 writes in the context of The Gambia suggesting strategies of sustainable tourism development based on long-term holistic planning, including appropriate resource development, community involvement, education and training. It is therefore high time these are taken seriously, especially when we are now recieving complains from tourists themselves.
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Drammehkangi
Sweden
40 Posts |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 24 Feb 2006 : 19:14:57
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Drammehkangi,
That is a really interesting article. I have rinted it so I can read it many times.
I am from a UK city that is swampped by tourists at certain times of the year (YORK). It is a double edged sword. Lots of people have employment and have improved standard of living because of it. But many things are VERY irritating too. eg traffic increases, queues in the bank etc....
The tourism that Gambia doesnt want is the sex industry tourism. It is my personal view that anyone caught doing something illegal should be prosecuted under Gambia law and refused entry to Gambia ever again. As a teacher, it breaks my heart to think of vunerable young people being put at risk from european peodophiles. It is common place in Asia...... but Gambia must try to prevent this by harsh treatment of the gulity.
To tourists I would say dont leave your morals at home........ dont do things that you wouldnt do at home! |
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2006 : 19:04:49
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| hi there, can anyone recommend cheap self catering accommodation to stay in during june. regards |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2006 : 21:12:35
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| I am going to look when I go next week. If I find anything I will let you know. |
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