The Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard) has launched a push to clean up the country’s tourism areas ahead of the peak season, after research identified poor cleanliness as one of the challenges affecting parts of the Tourism Development Area.

GTBoard Director General Ida Jeng Njie made the disclosure in Brikama while speaking to journalists during a tour of craft markets across the tourism sector, where she and her team engaged vendors on their challenges and distributed D50,000 to each market as a token of support.

Ms Njie said the tour was also aimed at preparing tourism stakeholders for the beginning of the peak season next week and strengthening cooperation between the Board and businesses operating within the sector.

“As we are coming to the beginning of the peak season, which will be next week, we felt that it is necessary that we come and meet our stakeholders, dialogue with them, discuss with them, to see how best we can move the sector collectively, together,” she said.

But she said cleanliness had emerged as a particular concern, with research conducted by the Board showing that significant parts of the tourism development area were not clean.

“There was research that we did, and the results that came out of the research was that most of the tourism development area is dirty,” Ms Njie said.

She said the GTBoard would work with other government institutions, local authorities and tourism stakeholders to improve cleanliness around tourism facilities.

“The cleanliness of the country and the TDA is not just for the government or it’s not just for one sector. It’s the responsibility of everybody,” she said.

Ms Njie said the Board was also assessing the individual needs of craft markets visited during the tour, with interventions to be prioritised according to urgency and available resources.

She said some markets needed basic facilities such as water, while others required cosmetic improvements.

“Water is priority,” she said, explaining that the Board would return to the drawing board to assess each request before deciding where resources should be directed.

At the Brikama Craft Market, Ms Njie acknowledged that the GTBoard does not receive revenue or licensing fees from the facility, which pays its fees to the Brikama Area Council.

However, she said the Board considers the market an important tourism product and therefore has a responsibility to support its development.

“We see it as a tourism product, so we need to look at it from that angle,” she said.

The Director General said the support was also intended to ensure that tourism benefits were shared across the sector rather than concentrated in one area.

“We don’t want one part of the sector to benefit whilst others don’t benefit,” she said.

The GTBoard’s engagement comes as stakeholders prepare for the new tourism season, with the Board seeking to improve tourism facilities, strengthen collaboration and address challenges affecting visitors and businesses.

By Adama Makasuba