By Yunus S Saliu
The Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard) is strengthening cooperation with Senegalese tourism operators as part of efforts to increase visitor arrivals and promote The Gambia and Senegal as a multi-destination tourism experience.
The initiative brings together members of the Collective des Acteurs du Tourisme au Sénégal (CATS), travel agents and tour operators with experience in marketing tourism products, for a five-day familiarisation visit to The Gambia.
Speaking after a business-to-business (B2B) networking event between CATS members and Gambian tourism stakeholders on Thursday, 3 September, at the African Princess Hotel, GTBoard Director General Ida Jeng Njie said the initiative was important for deepening tourism cooperation between the two countries.
She said the familiarisation visit was designed to give Senegalese tourism professionals firsthand knowledge of The Gambia’s tourism products, enabling them to market the destination more confidently to their clients.
“Before you can sell any product, you need to know the product,” Njie said.
She explained that the initiative, involving the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, the GTBoard and other tourism stakeholders, was aimed at exposing the visiting operators to the country’s attractions and tourism offerings.
Njie said some of the visiting operators had already been selling The Gambia but acknowledged that they had previously done so without sufficient firsthand knowledge of the destination.
The familiarisation programme would provide them with direct experience and accurate information to enable them to better advise clients and promote The Gambia, she said.
According to Njie, the initiative would also enable operators to develop tailor-made packages combining The Gambia and Senegal, thereby offering travellers a multi-destination experience.
“This has a lot of added value for the destination because it is not only exposing our products, but it is also an avenue to increase our visitor numbers,” she said.
Njie said multi-destination tourism was becoming increasingly popular among travellers, making closer cooperation between The Gambia and Senegal particularly important.
“Selling The Gambia and Senegal will give them a good opportunity to sell multi-destination,” she added.
The GTBoard director general said the programme would also expose CATS members to upcoming tourism events in The Gambia, which could subsequently be incorporated into holiday packages for their clients.
She described the initiative as a “win-win” arrangement, saying Senegalese operators would gain additional products to offer their customers while The Gambia would benefit from increased visitor arrivals.
Njie also highlighted the potential of the Senegalese market for attracting repeat visitors, saying the introduction of new destinations and experiences could help operators retain existing clients.
She said many repeat visitors traditionally travel to Senegal, but adding The Gambia to their itineraries could offer them new experiences while expanding the range of products available to operators.
The GTBoard chief also highlighted the contribution of colonies de vacances, organised holiday programmes for children, to the Gambian tourism sector.
She said more than 1,600 children had visited The Gambia this year through such programmes, particularly during the lean tourism months, helping hotels maintain operations during periods of traditionally low tourist arrivals.
“We are encouraging them to also bring other specialists, like honeymooners, wedding couples, birdwatchers and corporate retreats,” she said.
Njie said diversifying tourism products would allow Senegalese operators to attract different categories of visitors to The Gambia.
She stressed that the strategy was not limited to attracting visitors from Senegal but was intended to use The Gambia’s tourism products as a gateway to wider African and international markets.