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Originally posted by kayjatta

The Gambia is not a Muslim country. It is a secular country.Prostituion , I think is outlawed in the Gambia just like it is in all U.S. states except Nevada, but alcohol is allowed by the laws of the Gambia.

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Originally posted by lurker

good response. valid points. can someone now outline what such a sound footing could be ?

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Originally posted by kayjatta

The Gambia cannot be claimed as a Muslim country. True the majority of the people of the Gambia are Muslims, but the Gambia as a political and legal entity as reflected in its laws and public institutions has a life of its own distinct from Islamic theocracy.
Although Muslims are the majority, the Gambia consists of diverse groups of people with different religious, ethnic, and cultural persuations.
To claim the Gambia as a Muslim country because of its Muslim majority makes it legitimate by extension to also call it a Mandingo country because mandingos form the majority of the country. Is Iraq a ****e country, for example? But you will all agree that that claim would equally be wrong if for nothing else but the evidence that despite their majority, Mandingos do not dominate political power in the Gambia.
Mansasulu's claim of 'Muslim majority' equating Muslim ownership of the Gambia is similar to the claim of the so-called 'moral majority' that seeks to establish U.S. as a christian country.
You do not have to read Dr. Ali A. Mazrui to appreciate that the Gambia, like much of Africa, in deed has a triple heritage. So what you have in the Gambia is a cultural heritage of Western, Arab, and indigenous influence. Gambian culture is a hybridized culture of these various factors.
My understanding is that the Gambia is established by the constitution as a LEGAL and POLITICAL entity that has distanced itself from any religious or ethnic grouping. It is a SECULAR country that guarantees everyone to belief and practice or not to belief and practice any faith of their choice.
Also Mansasulu seems to suggest that the Gambia's poverty is a 'divine intervention' because we have departed our way. I disagree.The Gambia's poverty and other problems are a result of the economic and socio-political choices we have all made as Gambians.With appropriate political and economic reforms, I believe the Gambia can be set on a sound footing for progress and development.

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Gambia has about 100,000 tourists in a good year, and they average £1000 each per trip, and lets say half would not come under those circumstances - that would be a loss of £50, 000, 000 (yes, million) pounds of

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A study of tourism 'leakage' in Thailand estimated that 70% of all money spent by tourists ended up leaving Thailand (via foreign-owned tour operators, airlines, hotels, imported drinks and food, etc). Source: Thai Institute for Development and Administration, Bangkok, 1990. Estimates for other Third World countries range from 80% in the Caribbean to 40% in India.

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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 destination's economy. The figure below shows how the leakage happens.

Import leakage This commonly occurs when tourists demand standards of equipment, food, and other products that the host country cannot supply. Especially in less-developed countries, food and drinks must often be imported, since local products are not up to the hotel's (i.e. tourist's) standards or the country simply doesn't have a supplying industry. Much of the income from tourism expenditures leaves the country again to pay for these imports.
The average import-related leakage for most developing countries today is between 40% and 50% of gross tourism earnings for small economies and between 10% and 20% for most advanced and diversified economies, according to UNCTAD.
Export leakage Multinational corporations and large foreign businesses have a substantial share in the import leakage. Often, especially in poor developing destinations, they are the only ones that possess the necessary capital to invest in the construction of tourism infrastructure and facilities. As a consequence of this, an export leakage arises when overseas investors who finance the resorts and hotels take their profits back to their country of origin.

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A 1996 UN report evaluating the contribution of tourism to national income, gross levels of incomes or gross foreign exchange, found that net earnings of tourism, after deductions were made for all necessary foreign exchange expenditures, were much more significant for the industry. This report found significant leakage associated with: (a) imports of materials and equipment for construction; (b) imports of consumer goods, particularly food and drinks; (c) repatriation of profits earned by foreign investors; (d) overseas promotional expenditures and (e) amortization of external debt incurred in the development of hotels and resorts.

Local businesses often see their chances to earn income from tourists severely reduced by the creation of "all-inclusive" vacation packages. When tourists remain for their entire stay at the same cruise ship or 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.
The Organization of American States (OAS) carried out a survey of Jamaica's tourist industry that looked at the role of the all-inclusives compared to other types of accommodation. It found that 'All-inclusive hotels generate the largest amount of revenue but their impact on the economy is smaller per dollar of revenue than other accommodation subsectors.'
Other negative impacts
Infrastructure cost
Tourism development can cost the local government and local taxpayers a great deal of money. Developers may want the government to improve the airport, roads and other infrastructure, and possibly to provide tax breaks and other financial advantages, which are costly activities for the government. Public resources spent on subsidized infrastructure or tax breaks may reduce government investment in other critical areas such as education and health.
Increase in prices
Increasing demand for basic services and goods from tourists will often cause price hikes that negatively affect local residents whose income does not increase proportionately. A San Francisco State University study of Belize found that, as a consequence of tourism development, the prices for locals increased by 8%.
Tourism development and the related rise in real estate demand may dramatically increase building costs and land values. Not only does this make it more difficult for local people, especially in developing countries, to meet their basic daily needs, it can also result in a dominance by outsiders in land markets and in-migration that erodes economic opportunities for the locals, eventually disempowering residents. In Costa Rica, close to 65% of the hotels belong to foreigners. Long-term tourists living in second homes, and the so-called amenity migrants (wealthy or retired people and liberal professionals moving to attractive destinations in order to enjoy the atmosphere and peaceful rhythms of life) cause price hikes in their new homes if their numbers attain a certain critical mass.
Economic dependence of the local community on tourism
Diversification in an economy is a sign of health, however if a country or region becomes dependent for its economic survival upon one industry, it can put major stress upon this industry as well as the people involved to perform well. Many countries, especially developing countries with little ability to explore other resources, have embraced tourism as a way to boost the economy.
In The Gambia, for instance, 30% of the workforce depends directly or indirectly on tourism. In small island developing states, percentages can range from 83% in the Maldives to 21% in the Seychelles and 34% in Jamaica, according to the WTO. Over-reliance on tourism, especially mass tourism, carries significant risks to tourism-dependent economies. Economic recession and the impacts of natural disasters such as tropical storms and cyclones as well as changing tourism patterns can have a devastating effect on the local tourism sector.
Malta has only 380,000 residents, but received 1.2 million tourists in 1999. As 25% of GDP (and indirectly 40% ), tourism generated more than $650 million in foreign exchange earnings. Malta's high dependence on tourism and a limited number of export products makes its trade performance vulnerable to shifts in international demand.
Source: Washington Times

Seasonal character of jobs
The seasonal character of the tourism industry creates economic problems for destinations that are heavily dependent on it. Problems that seasonal workers face include job (and therefore income) insecurity, usually with no guarantee of employment from one season to the next, difficulties in getting training, employment-related medical benefits, and recognition of their experience, and unsatisfactory housing and working conditions.

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