Up until the mid-1960s the only so called 'tourists' that visited The
Gambia were rich stop-over Swedish sightseers from cruise ships which spent the day
in Banjul capital allowing people take short
rides to places of interest. It also coincided with the countries
independence and a time of great hope for the future of the tiny
country. However, this future was literally peanuts!
The early
tourist industry was given a momentum when a Swedish entrepreneur
by the name of Bertil Harding was
travelling to Capskerring in south
Senegal, in 1965, when after some unfortunate personal incidences he
accidentally drifted onto the shores of The Gambia.
 When he
experienced the country he became determined that his own country
people should see this 'paradise' so near (by air-time) to home and
how friendly the people were.
Thus, the Gambia's tourism industry was given a boost and put on a more
formal footing when a group of about
300 tourists from Sweden landed on the shores of The Gambia in
1965. In the
1966/67 the figure of visitors brought
by Vingressor increased to 628
tourists. This increased by over hundred percent indicated very
clearly that the sun and beach were becoming major sources of tourist
attraction. This is captured in an advertisement issued by the
Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and Tourism in a 1975
publication entitled:
'The Gambia Ten Years of Nationhood'. It reads:
"A climate that has been described as one of the best in the
world, mile upon mile of such splashed beaches, tall coconut palms,
blue tropical skies, a river that can take you deep into the heart of
Africa....."
 The original trips were organised
in a partnership venture between Mr. Harding and the tour operator
Vingresor / Club 33
(Ving) who saw that it was an ideal opportunity for Swedes to escape
the winter gloom for a holiday in an exotic 'paradise' beach resort
during the dark northern European months of October to April.
Vingressor / Club 33 promoted sun and beach tourism and constituted
the only company which offered package holidays up to the 1971/72
tourist season.
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Note:
The stretch of the coastal highway
from Kairaba Avenue (Fajara)
traffic lights and going south has been named after
Bertil Harding
in recognition of his previous efforts to promote the Gambia's
tourism industry.
A major
expansion of tourist arrivals to Gambia was experienced in the 70s. In
short, tourist arrivals increased from 300 tourists in 1965/66 to 2601
in 1970/71. In 1971/72, the number almost quadrupled to 8031. The
numbers reveal an increase to 20,383 visitors in 1973/74. By 1985,
47,926 tourist arrivals were recorded. By 1993/94, the number had
increased to 89,977 tourists. The country now (2008) receives
over 100,000 visitors a year.
The number of beds
 had to increase from
162 in 1965/66 to 390 in 1970/71. This number grew to 856
in 1971/ 72, 1,802 in 1974/75. The number of
hotels increased from
1 in 1954 to 2 in 1965, 13 in 1972/73 and over 40 currently. By 1993/94, there were over 6,000
bed spaces. In 2005 the total stock of hotel beds in Gambia stood at 7,000 with
3,000 rooms (Deloitte).
However, this influx of
visitors did not materialise into direct foreign tourism investment
which still left the country relying on peanuts as a foreign exchange
earner. The government under the then President Jawara was eager to
find alternatives to groundnuts as a foreign exchange earner and
wanted to exploit tourisms potential. As a result, in
1970, the TDA (Tourism Development Area) was born
which designated a 1,000 metre length of beach area going inland from
Kololi to Kartong for tourist development.
This meant that no residential properties could be built their. (This
is the reason why so many property buyers are confused as to why they
cannot buy a house on the beach). The government soon saw the real
potential of this new industry and began to offer incentives to
would-be investors in the form of tax duty waivers and tax holidays.
Much of that earlier charm and
the excitement of discovery has now sadly faded and most tourists now come on mass-booked,
cheap package holidays organised by the large tour operators on
chartered flights. However, the country has been careful to avoid the
mistakes made by the likes of Spain and has kept hotel heights down
and emphasized an African style exterior for buildings while allowing
for European style interiors with an African accent. Great efforts are
made by ASSET, who are an association who promote
responsible tourism
practices, to help reduce the negative effects of mass tourism on such
a small country.
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