Tourism offers much-needed income to poor countries. But who gets the holiday money? This project supports an award winning training college and local association of tourism businesses, helping students and SMEs to gain a livelihood through trade, not aid and generating income to support further development.
Our local partner in The Gambia says:
" As we in The Gambia are working hard to adapt our very important tourism industry for the post Covid it is important that we can continue to access the skills that people and places volunteers share with us. - even if they cannot travel to be with us. We are keen to work with volunteers who have business, IT, web design and language skills - we look forward to working with you - a warm welcome awaits you on the sunshine coast even if it is virtual sunshine!" Adama Bah - The Gambia
The Institute of Travel and Tourism in The Gambia (ITTOG) provides accredited training courses in travel and tourism-related subjects, ranging from Higher Professional Diplomas to tour guiding or cabin crew and airport certificates, priding themselves in the diversity of learning opportunities they offer. All courses focus on the concept of Responsible Tourism and how to make destinations better places to live in, and better places to visit, in that order. ITTOG is partnered with Central College Nottingham in the UK, and their courses are accredited by Central College as well as by the National Training Agency of The Gambia. One of ITTOG's key focuses is their belief in the power of entrepreneurship, and they work closely with and provide support for many local tourism-related businesses, as well as running a restaurant and travel brokerage company of their own.
Many special events are organised and marketed through ITTOG. All these events focus on opening up opportunities for income-generation from tourism across The Gambia and into the neighbouring country of Senegal, identifying and making use of relevant unique aspects of the history, culture and ecology of these two countries, and using these opportunities to provide training and job opportunities for local people. Examples of special events in the last couple of years are: The Roots Festival, the Mboko Festival for Arts, Culture and Sport, the St Louis Jazz Festival, a UNESCO Dance Festival based at 3 UNESCO Heritage sites, the Senegambia Run for Integration and the Ninki-Nanka Trail. E-volunteers are needed to help with the development and marketing of events such as these.
Many of the local businesses supported by ITTOG are members of the Association of Small Scale Enterprises in Responsible Tourism (ASSERT). ASSERT (formerly ASSET) was established in 2000 to bring together, advocate for, and promote a large number of small enterprises that are active in the tourism industry in The Gambia.
These enterprises include craft market vendors, tourist taxi drivers, official tourist guides, juice pressers and fruit sellers, as well as a number of guest houses, small hotels and ground tour operators. ASSERT is now supporting, training and representing over 80 members and has become a leading player in the Gambian Responsible Tourism Partnership programme being led by the Gambian Tourist Authority, aiming to ensure that the adverse impacts of tourism are minimised and that maximum benefits are gained by local people and their communities.
This is pro poor tourism at its best!
ASSERT's aim is to assist and support small-scale enterprises in tourism to trade fairly and pursue sustainable development, which contributes to the conservation of the physical environment and the social and economic welfare of the community in The Gambia. ASSERT's goals are to:
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contribute to improving the tourism product in The Gambia and help to bring development for the country
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provide assistance to members with product development, marketing, training, quality control and access to finance
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work collaboratively, promote networking and joint activities amongst members
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develop partnerships with government, other institutions and external organisations where appropriate
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contribute to sustainable development within the Gambian tourism industry using principles and practice of Fair Trade in Tourism
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identify appropriate quality standards for members
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protect small-scale business interests in the mass market tourist industry
Depending on their skills and experience, volunteers will help to develop the capacity of ITTOG and ASSERT in a variety of ways. You may link up with local people to develop one of the special events outlined above. You may work with staff at the college, helping to develop course modules and materials, train teachers and students and/or run courses for local businesses. Or you may be linked to a local business, helping them to develop their capacity through product development, accounting or marketing. Volunteer opportunities are many and varied in this project. Whatever your skills, you are needed to help make tourism an even greater force for good in The Gambia.
To learn more about how the volunteer programme works with this project read more here - and - here
