Mr. Sanyang,

Give credit where it is due. The Minister was in Oslo (Norway), not Sweden!

Momodou S Sidibeh


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alieu Sanyang" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, August 04, 2006 11:36 PM
Subject: Re: SPEECH DELIVERED BY HON SUSAN WAFFA OGOO AT THE OSLO 20TH 
CULTURAL WEEK


> Mr. Nyang,
>  Thanks for updating us on the Cultural week. I am very impressed with how 
> much maturity is shown by Gambians in Sweden to have a Gambian government 
> official visit you and address the group. Mostly, they are met with 
> insults and a few disgruntled of us.
>  I hope this can be foot steps for the rest of the Diaspora to follow. I 
> wish you all the best and hope you guys have a very successful cultural 
> week celebrations.
>
>  Alieu
>
> Tejan Nyang <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>  KEY NOTE ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE SECRETARY OF STATE
> FOR TOURISM AND CULTURE ON "THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT
> OF TOURISM ON THE GAMBIA"
>
> The Chairman,
> Members of the Gambian Association
> Friends of the Gambia
> Distinguish Ladies and Gentlemen
>
> I have the singular honor and pleasure to be
> Associated with this august gathering as it accords me
> the golden opportunity to share some pertinent
> Thoughts with you on this very important theme:! The
> Impact of tourism on the socio-economic development of
> The Gambia.!
>
>
> Mr. Chairman I will like to first of all give a little
> Background as to how tourism started in The Gambia.
> A Swedish national by the name of Bertil Harding
> Together with Vingresser, in 1965, brought 300 Swedish
> visitors to The Gambia. They marketed The Gambia as an
> exotic sun and beach resort where rich Swedes could
> spend the European winter months to escape from the
> cold. The months of October to April were considered
> to be appropriate for tourism. By 1966-67 tourist
> arrivals increased by 100 percent. The Government of
> the Gambia, which at that time, relied mainly on the
> groundnut crop to earn foreign exchange, saw the need
> to exploit the foreign exchange earning capacity of
> the tourism sector. Hence by 1970, the Government
> designated 1000 meters of the Gambia's beach as the
> Tourism Development Area (TDA). This development led
> To the increase of hotel beds from 162 in 1965/66 to
> 300 beds in 1970/71. The number of visitors increased
> from 300 tourists in 1965/66 to 2600 visitors in
> 1970/71. However, because the country was not a major
> destination, it did not attract much foreign direct
> investment. Tourism was seen mainly as a government
> enterprise. There were few hotels and these were built
> through government investment, with partnership from
> investors such as the Commonwealth Development
> Cooperation and Vingressor.
>
> This initiative brought interest and later gave rise
> To the development of hotels through the involvement
> Of the private sector. Realizing the potentials in the
> sector, the Government provided incentives in the form
> of tax holidays and duty waivers to potential
> Investors. Today there are about 35 hotels, over 6000
> hotel beds, and an average of 100, 000 visitors
> Annually.
>
> Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, tourism is
> Recognized as one of the Gambia's principal engines of
> growth, and an important contributor to the attainment
> of poverty reduction. The sector ontributes between
> 16-18 percent of the country's GDP; it provides
> employment to over 20, 000 Gambians, in the formal and
> non-formal sectors; it is our biggest foreign exchange
> earner- in 2004 it fetched US$ 40 million; in the same
> year, it contributed D200 million to government
> revenue.
>
> Tourism and its Impact on Gambian society:
>
> Tourism as you are all aware has mixed impacts. On a
> positive note, tourism provides jobs, brings foreign
> exchange and provides income to support local
> development. It can also directly support local
> industry and encourage communities to place greater
> emphasis on environmental protection. For instance at
> its initial stage tourism encouraged women to learn
> various trades in the form of tie and batik which in
> effect made them bread winners and providers of the
> daily needs of their families. It is indeed through
> this dynamic trade that we have seen our women folk
> take on greater responsibility of paying for their
> children's school fees both locally and abroad,
> building houses and providing fish money for their
> families and thus making them equal partners with the
> men in contributions towards the welfare of the
> family.
>
> Mr. Chairman, ladies and Gentlemen, it is also worth
> Mentioning that most of the women folk initially
> Engaged in the tie and dye business were uneducated
> But surprisingly they were, with time, able to master
> The languages of the visitors, as a result of their
> Interaction with them. With a little encouragement and
> through enrolment in literacy classes some of these
> women were not only able to speak foreign anguages;
> they also acquired writing skills. We are therefore
> glad that tourism in a way also contributed to the
> promotion of adult education.
>
> Indeed, empirical evidence has shown that when two
> cultures clash/meet they are bound to influence each
> other. This can either be positive of negative.
> Although Gambian society has benefited a lot from
> tourism, we have also seen a number of negative
> impacts, especially with the youth sub sector. Being a
> very vulnerable group the tendency is for youth to
> abandon indigenous ways of living in favor of the
> borrowed western culture- this is more apparent in the
> way they dress, marriage culture, begging among
> children and prostitution among others.
> Mr. Chairman, the list is not excursive as far as I
> Know, but I am limiting my self to some of these
> problems and hopefully some of the other problems will
> form part of our discussion after my remarks.
> I am sure that our visitors have also been affected
> by their interaction with their Gambian hosts and
> friends in a number of ways.
>
> Mr. Chairman, ladies and Gentlemen, if I may go back
> to the economic impact of tourism, like most other
> tourist destinations in the developing world, the
> Gambia, does not benefit from tourism as much as it
> should. A lot of revenue is lost through leakages such
> as:
>
>
> . Importation of foodstuff, drinks and other
> essential commodities
> . Repatriation of expatriate salaries
> . Package tour receipts that do not reach The Gambia
> . Expenditure on advertisements, promotion and
> publicity, among others.
>
> It is estimated that significant leakages of gross
> visitor expenditure due to imports and payments
> retained outside the Gambia is estimated to be D218
> million. These results show that we need to be more
> proactive in addressing the leakages of the tourism
> sector, if we are to maximize gains out of it.
>
> It is also important to note that Gambian tourism
> depends on seasonal packaged tours even though The
> Gambia is an all-year round tourist destination.
> However, it is disheartening to note that a
> significant percentage of package tour operators
> money, which include fares, accommodation and board,
> stays outside in the country of origin of the tourist.
> We are also cognizant of all the factors that
> contribute to the leakages in tourism revenue, which
> prevent us from maximizing the benefits of tourism.
> These were the reasons, among others, that led to the
> commissioning of a tourism development master plan
> study by The Government of The Gambia. The study's
> objective was to review and develop the sector in its
> entirety. It has now proposed various policies and
> strategies that would guide future development plans
> as well as enhance the socio-economic, cultural and
> ecological impact of tourism.
>
> In addition to the Master Plan Study, the Department
> of State for Tourism and Culture has also developed a
> national Ecotourism Strategy, whose aim is to ensure
> that the benefits of tourism trickle down to the
> communities, thereby benefiting the majority of the
> Gambian people thus contributing towards poverty
> alleviation . This will be done by encouraging
> investors to develop in partnership with the local
> communities' eco-lodges and -camps in the rural areas.
> It is expected that this will not only help provide
> employment, and enhance the income earning capacity of
> rural families, but shall also help reduce the
> rural-urban migration.
>
> Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I
> have in the foregone exposition, attempted to
> demonstrate the impact of tourism on the Gambian
> economy. However, as has been pointed out, even though
> the Gambia derives tremendous benefit from tourism, a
> lot of what should have accrued to the country remains
> outside. The Gambia Government, through my Department
> of State, is intensifying efforts via policies and
> programmed to ensure that Gambians derive much more
> from this very lucrative trade. Examples that can be
> highlighted include the Bengdulas, craft-markets,
> Beach Bars, Ground Handlers, Fruit & Juice Sellers,
> and Tourist Guide Scheme were all initiatives meant to
> offer Gambians a stake in the industry. Other
> innovations include the Association of Small Scale
> Enterprises in Tourism (ASSET), The Responsible
> Tourism Partnership (RTP) and the 'Gambia is Good'
> these Project are all seeking to achieve
> sustainability and more equitable distribution of the
> tourism cake At the same time, we also continue to
> improve and develop the Gambian product, and to
> intensify our marketing and promotion strategy. All of
> these, we belief, will help make the Gambia more
> marketable thereby boosting the number of visitors,
> which we hope will help increase tourism income. At
> the end of the day our dream is to utilize the
> economic benefits of tourism to alleviate poverty.
>
> Last but not the least , your associations
> contribution in promotinig Gambian culture as an
> annual event is highly appreciated by my Department of
> State for Tourism and Culture and the entire
> Government and people of the Gambia. Let me assure you
> of my Department continued support and cooperation .
>
> On this note Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Ladies and
> Gentlemen HE. President Alh Dr Yaya A.J.J .Jammeh has
> asked me to convey to you all on his behalf and the
> entire Gambian people a happy and joyous 20th cultural
> week celebration. I thank you all for your attention.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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