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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
 Posted - 10 Mar 2007 : 09:16:08
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Tintinto keep posting! It's nice to see someone new having a go!
Tell us more about your trip! |
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tintinto
United Kingdom
105 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2007 : 10:06:24
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| Oh, Gambiabev, contacting me personally!!! i feel very honurd, i have been following your postings for a long time, and admire them very much... i will keep posting, but please accept my mistakes..... thankyou! |
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2007 : 14:36:07
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i think some pople are missing the point, Tintino has seen for himself what is happening and does not like it. his two friends will not go back because of it.
somebody has to address the bumster issue, either make it illegal to harrass the tourists, create jobs/employment for them. BUT IT HAS TO BE TACKLED, only gambians can do this.
i have never met a poor bumster, just one looking for a way to make a living. But a bet some of them are well off by Gambian standards, they were designer clothes, have mobiles, have friends with cars. |
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tintinto
United Kingdom
105 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2007 : 14:52:09
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Tintinto's answers to commonly used "bumster" chatup lines!!
No 1, Bumster: " Hi its me,dont you reconise me? i work at the Hotel, why are you not speaking to me?
Tourist: "Yes i do reconise you, i am not speaking, because i dont like you!!!! |
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remyspam
15 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2007 : 17:18:00
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quote:
Originally posted by jambo
i think some pople are missing the point, Tintino has seen for himself what is happening and does not like it. his two friends will not go back because of it.
somebody has to address the bumster issue, either make it illegal to harrass the tourists, create jobs/employment for them. BUT IT HAS TO BE TACKLED, only gambians can do this.
Very true, ignoring the bumsters doesn't work, they need to change situations at a fundamental level.
quote:
i have never met a poor bumster, just one looking for a way to make a living. But a bet some of them are well off by Gambian standards, they were designer clothes, have mobiles, have friends with cars.
Also very true. I think bumsterism is (more than in one aspect) close to prostitution.
And once you get hooked on the 'easy' money, you can't get away.
quote:
Originally posted by tintinto
Tintinto's answers to commonly used "bumster" chatup lines!!
No 1, Bumster: " Hi its me,dont you reconise me? i work at the Hotel, why are you not speaking to me?
Tourist: "Yes i do reconise you, i am not speaking, because i dont like you!!!!
No, I personally don't think that's fair.
No need to be rude, they are only trying to make their money.
Just a friendly no-thank-you should do (unless it are the sticky ones, then some rudeness needs to be applied, unfortunately)
You don't shoulder off the binman or the waiter, do you? |
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MADIBA
United Kingdom
1275 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2007 : 20:50:45
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| Bumsterism should not be encouraged at all. Tourists are free to make friends with anyone. I can remember in the 70s tourists brought by vingresor (i think a swedish tour operator) used to organised village cultural shows for tourists , who mingled freely with the locals. One such village was BanjulNding. Tourists could be seen walking hand in hand with the locals and sharing pleasantries. |
madiss |
Edited by - MADIBA on 10 Mar 2007 20:56:00 |
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 10 Mar 2007 : 23:56:13
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When we can address poverty, unemployment unjust immigration rules restricting the freedom of migration of non EU and US citizens then. Then Bumsterism will become a thing of the past.
Peace
Sister Omega |
Peace
Sister Omega |
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Drammehkangi
Sweden
40 Posts |
Posted - 09 Apr 2007 : 21:42:33
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Bumster issue is really a nightmare for the Gambia. However must professionals in the industry are using subjective views to solve the probelm, which have not been working because it has not just occurred by chance of accident. This issue have been discussed in the context of economic, social, political, institutional and ideological factors. According to World Tourism Organization estimates about 80% of international tourism projects (including international hotel and airline) are controlled by trans-national Corporations. Within third world countries you often have world class facilities which are provided on an enclave basis for foreign visitors. When tourists remain for their entire stay at the same resort, which provides everything they need and where they will make all their expenditures, not much opportunity is left for local people to profit from tourism. This, of course, then gives rise to the socioeconomic discontent, when local communities are often marginalised to take part the economic activities that tourism brings along. What often appears to be a normal commercial relationship in a developing country may actually be the result of a network of anti-competitive practices. Too often local people are denied the opportunity of any significant participation in tourism. They are denied accessibility to tourists and the industry as a result of the all-inclusive type of business that many international corporations that brings tourists to The Gambia do. All-inclusive is when everything that is included in a holiday, prepaid to the operator from the tourist generating end.
This is due in part to enclave forms of tourism development which has always been argued, that it is not meant to benefit local communities in developing countries. The supply chain comprises the suppliers of all the goods and services that go into the delivery of tourism products to consumers. It includes all suppliers of goods and services whether or not they are directly contracted by tour operators or by their agents (including ground handlers) or suppliers (including accommodation providers). It should also be considered that some tourism goods and services are supplied direct to tourists and are purchased by consumers themselves and it should not be forgotten that tour operators can influence their customers in this area too. Local businesses often see their chances to earn income from tourists severely reduced by the creation of "all-inclusive" vacation packages. The Organisation of American States (OAS) carried out a survey of Jamaica's tourist industry that looked at the role of the all-inclusive compared to other types of accommodation. It found that 'All-inclusive hotels generate the largest amount of revenue but their benefit/contributions on the economy is smaller per dollar of revenue than other accommodation sub-sectors.’It also concluded that all-inclusive imports more, and employed fewer people per dollar of revenue than other hotels. Often rich countries are better able to profit from tourism than poor ones. Whereas the least developed countries have the most urgent need for income, employment and general rise of the standard of living by means of tourism, they are least able to realise these benefits”. Among the reasons for this are large-scale transfer of tourism revenues out of the host country and exclusion of local businesses and products. There is empirical evidence that of each US$ 100 spent on a vacation tour by a tourist from a developed country, only around US$ 5 actually stays in a developing-country’s economy. The poorest countries have seen their share of world trade decline substantially and risk further marginalisation if proper attentions are not taken.
As a service industry it is generally acknowledged that tourism is labour intensive and that one of the major impacts of tourism development, particularly at a regional and local level, is job creation. It is therefore very essential to understand the demographic dispersion of active bumsing, and what opportunities are available for those local communities around every area reported to be a heaven for bumsters to see if tourism makes any economic sense for The Gambia, and why these people hassling tourists?Excluding local communities from meaningful participation in tourism economic activities can result to other forms unproductive activities. As this scenario unfolded, and when the expected benefits from tourism were not achieved or only partly achieved, a more critical attitude towards the sector evolved. Governments and development agencies began to ask why tourism was not producing the volume of benefits which most of its adherents had promised. |
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 10 Apr 2007 : 00:18:04
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Drammehkangi, I think that there are too many contradictions woithin the Gambia's model of tourism. They are down to reactionary policies instead of proactive ones. Also there doesn't seem to be a master plan to allow for global warming and carbon offsetting. With Climate changing climbing further up the International Agenda. Gambia needs to think how to adapt to this environmental impact which in turn will impact on the socio-economic environment. Job creation away from Tourism is a sector that needs to be developed.
Peace
Sister Omega |
Peace
Sister Omega |
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Drammehkangi
Sweden
40 Posts |
Posted - 10 Apr 2007 : 10:11:52
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Yes, the environmental impact of tourism, putting heavy burdens on the socio-economy in the country worth attention. The major criticism must be that tourism planners simply concentrated on creating more tourist expenditure without addressing the attendant issues of how to retain a higher proportion of that expenditure within the country. It is not about job creation in the industry alone, but how to link to other sectors to create a multiplier effect.
The net retention factor should have been the major economic target, but surprisingly this was not greatly addressed by planners. The growing volume of leakages out of the tourism sector often reflected the state of under-development of a particular country’s economy and its inability to take advantage of inter-sectoral linkages to provide the inputs necessary to the tourism sector, and there is no doubt, this has contributed greatly to this idea of busmsing. Package tours have been a part of that development, offered and sold by one wholesaler tends to imply little revenue remaining in destination countries. Package holidays are increasingly all-inclusive deals, making it unnecessary for tourists to spend money outside the resort. Given such kind of a structure, Shaw and Williams (2002) cites Gamble, 1989; for instance suggesting that it is hardly surprising, The Gambia suffers some of the greatest leakages and consequently has some of weakest economic benefits derived from tourism.Without any doubt, these expectations are still maintained and therefore determine what should be provided in the developing countries for the foreign tourists. It causes a situation where within third world countries you often have first class world facilities which are provided on an enclave basis for foreign visitors, where local communities generate very little benefits. They import almost everything that is consummed within that facility!! There are weak linkages between tourism and other sectors and that there are high propensities to import of foreign goods. According to The Gambia Tourism Master Plan (2004)for instance, direct import of food and beverages in the industry in The Gambia represents approximately one third the of food and beverage consumption. There is concern that in a country like The Gambia, there has been no/or little increase of agricultural production in relation to increasing tourism development. The linkage of tourism to local industries is the only way forward in making this industry a meaningful economic activity for the average poor Gambians, and act as a catalyst to rejuvenate the seemingly stagnant agricultural sector and its related industries. Thus, the industry has the potential to spread economic activity through job creation directly and indirectly, as it is very dependent on other sectors. It seems that are not good at linking these sectors to create meaninful, and decent income earning activities for local communties, thereby even minimise the unprecedented level of migration of youths to Urban Areas in search of jobs, especially around the Tourism Development Area, where they usually end up as social misfits, notably into Bumsing, sex tourism or drug peddling.
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toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 10 Apr 2007 : 11:53:49
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| Come on people,the truth now,if there is no work no money and no chance of either for your survival and you are a young man,what do you do? YOU BECOME A BUMSTER!!! |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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kisley
United Kingdom
214 Posts |
Posted - 10 Apr 2007 : 12:13:54
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| The bumpsters do work for their money, they make brilliant guides, very informative(never stop talking)......much better than the gambian guides working for the big tourist opperators(and the government guides)...they basically couldnt be bothered, looked bored, and at one stage i thought one of them was going to fall asleep. |
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Drammehkangi
Sweden
40 Posts |
Posted - 10 Apr 2007 : 13:05:30
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Exactly!! they make briliant guides. Certainly, there is a social, environmental and economic discontent with tourism, but it must also be accepted that tourism is essentially an international industry and one which is market-driven. This means that what has to be supplied has to meet international standards and international demand; it is not sufficient to provide what a country wishes to offer without reference to expected standards. Authorities should facilitate sensitisation and motivation programs for bumsters, for example to become supplies of tourist amenities and services, by identifying those market segments which best match what the destination country-has to offer and what it wants to offer. Perhaps, if many of these bumsters and the likes are motivated to take a responsible participatory role in tourism economic activity will improve the contribution of tourism to the local economy, both financially and in terms of employment, and may also help to preserve local skills in craft production, such as the production of local crafts, provide a source of diversification and reduce seasonality in employment, and the tourism trade. As demand for tourism increases, so too will the need for the establishment of more tourism related activities that will provide opportunities for linkages with other sectors in the economy.
The diversification strategy of The Gambia Tourism Authority for quality tourists puts emphasis on culture, ecotourism, river cruises with potentials for deep sea fishing, bird watching and development of nature parks; a large part of which waits to be developed with sustainable practices. Bumsters have enormous experience of tourism activities and products in the country which is an opportunity to be use to help in promoting general improvements in sustainability performance as part of good commercial, and quality service practices. This put weight to the influential way bumsters engage tourists in private excursions thereby creating economic activity in the form of hiring taxi drivers, and buying from small vendors, taking tourists to villages and some sites where they buy things from local communities and give out presents to schools, and hospitals. Other contributions of bumsters to the economy involve bringing sales to tourist markets, wood cavers in exchange for commissions (Bah and Goodwin, 2003). 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. Rassing, (2001); Rassing and Sørensen, (2001), suggests that to many destinations the far majority of repeat customers are people combining a holiday with a visit to friends and relatives. Some of these so called bumsters have developed very close friendship with tourists eventually leading to many repeaters. In 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 tourists are interested in. Although bumsters are an annoyance for many tourists, others enjoy the opportunities to engage with Gambians and to make a difference (Bah and Godwin, 2003). |
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leokat
United Kingdom
123 Posts |
Posted - 10 Apr 2007 : 17:43:44
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quote:
Originally posted by tintinto
I have resontly returned from the Gambia, i have been going for some 15 years… My one friend has to a "doctorate" in Phycollegy" and another in "Enginnering", the other is incharge of a Cadburys factory over 1,200 people. so they really do not need nurse maiding, by several "Bumsters" at one time as soon as they come out of the hotel, being told were to Change money, eat,etc… Shame for all of us that love the gambia!!!!
Tinito, I’ve read your message several times and my reaction has always been the same, namely: ‘Hasn’t this topic already been discussed ad infinitum‘. However, this time something clicked with me.
Yes bumsters can be a nuisance. Yes they can be persistent. Yes they deter some tourists. However, as has already been said, they also offer a service which some tourists appreciate and are willing to renumerate the bumster for.
It should always be remembered that in poor developing countries with no comprehensive welfare system people do whatever it takes to survive. Many whole Gambian families depend on the money earned by a family member who is a bumster.
It is my opinion that we tourists who are fortunate to have the money and opportunity to travel have a duty to try to understand the culture and sub-culture of the country we are visiting. As a white European I also feel a responsibility to try to understand the part, both positive and negative, I and my race might play in affecting the lives of the disadvantaged.
Surely the friend who has a doctorate in psychology is intelligent enough to ‘see the bigger picture,’ and understand the factors that might lead some young Gambian (mainly) men to believe they have no alternative other than to become a bumster. Moreover, one would hope s/he would have an appreciation of how the practice of bumstering is perpetrated and why it persists.
The friend who works in engineering has real and solid skills that could be used to benefit Gambians and/or offer training for a trade that might enable someone to make a living away from bumstering.
The friend who works for Cadbury’s really ought to reassess his own position. The ‘chocolate industry’ is notorious for it’s exploitation of (overwhelmingly black) children and young people. For example, in Ghana young boys are expected to work for twelve hours per day in the blazing sun, without any access to shade, turning the coca pods for ripening. They are paid a pittance and denied an education. This amounts to little more than modern day slavery. Were I the destitute black sub-Saharan mother of a young boy I think I would rather he was working on his own terms as a bumster rather than slaving away for an unimaginably (to me) rich chocolate manufacturer for a pittance wage.
Moreover, historically, the Cadbury family itself is not without a stain on it‘s character. As Quakers, they have a generally good reputation for working practices and worker relations, especially here in England. However, some Quakers were known to keep slaves on their plantations.
Maybe your friends would do better to overcome their feelings of being overwhelmed, and look at how they might ’make a difference‘. |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 10 Apr 2007 : 18:02:02
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I see bumsters as being self employed! Surely that is better than working for next to nothing for a big multinational company!
They can be annoying, but if you befriend one or two the others will leave you alone and respect you for helping in their country...or at least that is my experience. I just say I am sorry but I cant help everyone. I am always VERY firm, but polite. I have had some very interesting discussions with so called bumsters. I believe if you respect others then they will respect you, where ever you are in the world and who ever you are talking to.
What I like about the Gambia is the friendliness of the people and how it is relatively safe to get out and see the country. I dont want to stay in a sanitised all inclusive hotel. If I did I would go to Spain or Mexico or Cuba or something similar. I stay B &B and eat out and spend my money out of the hotel. If all tourists did more of that during their stay then it would really benefit local people alot more and create more jobs. |
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