Gambia Action Plan, 2003

Gambia Action Plan

Contents
Introduction
Management Structure
GAP Priorities
Objective 1. To support the implementation of a long term RT management structure within the Gambia
Objective 2. To appoint a long term RT manager in the Gambia and find appropriate funding
Objective 3. To seek to find ways to implement the proposals from previous projects
Objective 4. To ensure that the UK and Gambia site staff of UK based operators are properly trained in RT issues
Objective 5. To look at tourism infrastructure EEG empty hotel property with a view to finding long term benefits
Objective 6. To improve the RT communication links between all Gambia operators through joint meetings
Objective 7. To help to achieve a code of conduct for guides and others who provide services to clients
Objective 8. To determine how best to get ASSET information to clients
Objective 9. To look at the possibility of Tourist Information Points as a way of distributing non formal material
Objective 10. To use the Gambia project as a means to develop best RT practice more widely through the development of a destination model and framework
Summary

INTRODUCTION

In early 2003, I was asked by the owners of the Gambia Experience - the UK's leading tour operator to the Gambia - to undertake a review of the Responsible Tourism (RT) issues in the Gambia.   This was a part of the company's wider adoption of their RT policies as a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO).

During this visit I became sensitised to the potential that tourism has to help the economy of the country and to provide opportunities for many people living on subsistence levels of income.

For this potential to be achieved there is a need for many agencies to work together and to forge structures which ensure that social and economic benefits from tourism are spread widely and wisely throughout the whole community.

I met with the Directors of the newly formed Gambia Tourist Authority   (GTA) and was delighted to be introduced to people who had formed a fledgling RT partnership as a result of a previous "pro poor" study.   This partnership had a number of plans and agreements but lacked a formal structure and mechanisms to take forward their policies.

In discussion with the GTA and members of this partnership (RTP), I accepted a challenge to develop an action plan to create a structure and to progress the plans of the group.

On return to England I sought the support of AITO's RT committee chaired by Graham Edgeley and the Federation of Tour Operator's (FTO) RT unit led by Chris Thompson and we agreed to formulate an industry supported strategy backed by all of the UK tour operators to the Gambia.

Funding to assist our work was provided by the industry's new Tourism Foundation (TF) a charity formed by the industry to develop RT policies and programmes at tourism destinations worldwide.

One of the most rewarding parts of this programme has been that, for the first time, companies from differing associations who normally operate under the fiercest of competitive climates, agreed to work together for mutual good.

The results of our work follow.   A RT programme - the Gambia Action Plan (GAP) - is now in place, structures have been built and an institutional framework adopted.   The Travel Foundation has agreed to fund the first year operation of the structure and long term measures for ensuring continuity are nearing completion.

Dick Sisman  
December 2003

Management Structure

Chris Thompson, Head of the Travel Foundation's (TF) Responsible Tourism Unit, acted as GAP Director managing a small budget allocated by the Foundation.   Graham Edgeley, Chairman of AITO's Responsible Tourism Committee took responsibility for the particular objectives relating to the development of the industry model and framework and Dick Sisman managed the delivery objectives on a day to day basis. Sue Hurdle monitored progress on behalf of the Foundation.

GAP priorities

The management team has approved the following priorities and agreed that success will be measured against operational achievements rather than a lengthy report.   This action plan will be updated regularly to show these operational achievements over time. Following meetings with and presentations to the Responsible Tourism Partnership and stakeholders within the Gambia, GAP has now been accepted as the preferred solution for the development of RT within the Gambia.

1. To support the implementation of a long term RT management structure within the Gambia
2. To appoint and find funding for a long term RT manager in the Gambia
3. To seek to find ways to implement the proposals from previous projects
4. To ensure that the site staff of UK based operators are properly trained in RT issues
5. To look at tourism infrastructure, e.g. empty hotel property with a view to finding long term benefits
6. To improve the RT communications links between all Gambia operators through joint meetings
7. To help to activate a code of conduct for guides and others who provide services to clients
8. To determine how best to get ASSET information to clients
9. To look at the possibility of tourist information points as a way of distributing non formal material
10. To use this project as a means to develop best RT practice more widely through the development of a destination model and framework

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Objective 1.   To support the implementation of a long term RT management structure within the Gambia by working with the Responsible Tourism Partnership (RTP) established by the Gambia Tourist Authority (GTA).   The RTP has hoteliers, ground handlers, overseas tour operators and ASSET as members.

Methodology:  The GTA formally requested help in developing a national RT strategy to underpin its wider work.   As the GTA is a "new" authority there was an excellent opportunity to integrate RT into its tourism development plans.
Timescale: The initial objective was to have the strategic RT framework in place by the time of the international RT conference planned for the Gambia in September 2004.   However because of the enthusiasm for GAP as a process and the hard work of the RTP a new institutional framework was discussed and agreed in October 2003 and is now operational.
Action to date: The GTA has given assurances that RT is a high priority for the Authority.   Dick Sisman met with members of the RTP in October to formulate a working arrangement and to discuss ways in which Tour Operators can best contribute to the aims of the group.   During this visit Dick also attended a tourism development conference with Government Ministers and stakeholders from all sectors.   The most broad based agreement with stakeholders was reached and GAP has now become a part of the Government and GTA's development policy.
Analysis and comment: GAP's success depended upon a long term framework to underpin the actions of the industry and local community and we have worked closely with the Responsible Tourism Partnership to develop an institutional framework. This framework consisting of a Responsible Tourism Advisory Board representing the interests of all stakeholders has now been agreed. It defines and regulates policies; assigns roles and selects and appoints members of working groups.   It will be the overall decision making body of the partnership. The board will be assisted by a Destination Management Office (DMO).   This office will assist the board in both research and development.   A responsible tourism manager will head the DMO and be collocated with the GTA. The first year funding for the DMO is now in place and Dick Sisman & Associates is looking to establish a base for providing long term funding. The Advisory Board will have four working groups covering: programmes; capacity building and training; advocacy and monitoring; and managing and evaluating impacts.

Objective 2.   To appoint a long term RT manager in the Gambia and find appropriate funding

Methodology: It was important to ensure that the achievements of GAP are carried forward in the long term.   GAP managers believe that a local RT manager should be appointed and this person should act as the RT link between the industry and local interests.
Timescale: An early appointment was essential to ensure that the appointee is involved in discussions and programme development.
Action to date: Dick Sisman asked ASSET, the GTA and the Tourism and Travel Association to give some thought to the role and who might fulfil it.  This was discussed in Dick Sisman's meeting with the RTP in October and it was agreed to establish the new DMO mentioned in objective 1.   Kaliba Senghore, a Director of the GTA, will head up the DMO and funds were be sought to provide him with the necessary secretarial support to service the Advisory Board and other interests. The first years costs have been provided by the Travel Foundation   By institutionalising the programme within the GTA there will be significant advantages to all stakeholders and the necessary continuity of delivery. Tour Operators now have a "one stop shop" within the DMO to exchange RT information and a proper framework for dealing with problems and opportunities.  
Analysis and comment: Funding for the first year is in place and Dick Sisman is developing a mechanism to provide longer term funding.

Objective 3.   To seek to find ways to implement the proposals from previous projects

Methodology: A number of previous reports and studies have direct relevance for this project, most notably those funded by DFID and the STI/Foreign Office. Progress on recommendations has been   checked and shortfalls in delivery identified.  The new RTP board and DMO will seek to develop those outstanding issues which the RTP identify as being of importance.
Timescale: During the lifetime of GAP   and beyond with the assistance of RTP and DMO.
Action to date: Priorities for action were set and action agreed in the previous Bah, Roe and Goodwin STI project in 2002. There was agreement at the RTP meeting in the Gambia and amongst FTO member companies who were represented by senior managers at DFID during WTM in 2002. Chris Thompson and Dick Sisman met jointly with Tour Operator representatives on 11 September 2003 to gain a clear understanding of the level of support from the industry. Operators felt that previous projects had "run out of steam" because of the time lapse since the last meeting (9 months) and the fact that no new structure had been created with a specific delivery objective.   They welcome GAP as a way of moving forward both old and new ideas into a structured delivery phase.
Analysis and comment:  GAP will build on and add to, rather than replicate, previous RT work.

Objective 4.    To ensure that the UK and Gambia site staff of UK based operators are properly trained in RT issues

Methodology: GAP will develop training materials and seek to host discussions with site staff in advance of them taking up their duties.

Timescale: The main body of site staff of operators take up their duties in September and October. Training and materials will be developed by the RTP as a part of their induction in the Gambia in 2004.
Action to date: Discussions have taken place with Travel Foundation to ensure that training is compatible with that for other destinations. There have also been favourable discussions with Tour Operators who will ensure that reps attend as required. This has been very much welcomed by the stakeholders within the Gambia and representatives of local services (ground handlers, guides taxi drivers etc.) have offered to attend any training sessions to ensure that actions are compatible with objectives.
Analysis and comment: Chris Thompson and Dick Sisman have met with all relevant FTO and AITO members. Materials and training will be common to all operators irrespective of Association.  The Travel Foundation sees training as an important part of its work going forward and GAP will work with the Foundation to establish a pilot training initiative.

Objective 5.   To look at tourism infrastructure e.g empty hotel property with a view to finding long term benefits

Methodology: The GTA has a source of funds and RT issues should be incorporated into spending decisions.  This will be a part of the RT strategy.   At the same time there is a need to look at the structural arrangements for administration and decision making and GAP will address these with the GTA and others.
Timescale: Lifetime of the project.
Action to date: None planned in the short term as it is seen as a low priority by the RTP advisory board.
Analysis and comment: For GAP to succeed in the long term it will be necessary to ensure that supportive structures and policies are in place within the formal sector.

Objective 6.   To improve the RT communication links between all Gambia operators through joint meetings

Methodology: This was intended as an opportunity for the tour operators to respond to the initiatives being taken. The members of the RTP hope that operators will meet regularly to determine their objectives and priorities and fully join in the RTP.
Timescale: Communications are a part of the training and RT induction programme.
Action to date: A Forum was established under the DFID funded project and this has been reconvened in October 2003. Tour Operator managers based in the Gambia also now include RT as an agenda item in their regular meetings.
Analysis and comment: It was considered essential that all operators should have access to an opportunity for discussion of common RT interests. At the same time this opportunity should be extended to include ASSET and other local representatives in a dialogue to develop mutual interests.  Previous Travel Foundation work in Cyprus may have relevant examples to offer.  

Objective 7.   To help to achieve a code of conduct for guides and others who provide services to clients

Methodology: Previous reports to STI/Foreign Office have dealt with such a code and the project has built upon this work.
Timescale: Life of the project.
Action to date: Discussions with Operators indicated this has been a serious problem to them. Current card systems for guides and taxis did not seem to work effectively. Dick Sisman has met with guides, taxi drivers and other service providers to ensure that they fully understand these concerns. Despite some residual problems there is a general optimism that the level of understanding has increased and that action has significantly improved at the start of the new winter 2003 season. Members of the RTP have assured that these improvements will be monitored and continued. Training materials for local service providers are now in preparation.
Analysis and comment: This will continue to be a part of the work of the RTP to ensure that local goods and services are more easily available in a consistent way and to a quality acceptable to the operators and ground handlers.  Some progress has already been made on this with fruit sellers and juice sellers in the DFID project - also the income of craft sellers has increased.

New practical solutions will be sought through the RTP to ensure a general improvement in the way in which services are provided and to improve quality.  A "training" newsletter will be provided by the DMO for local providers and the first year cost has been met through the Travel Foundation budget. A further sum has been allocated from this budget for more institutionalised and specific training.

Objective 8.   To determine how best to get ASSET information to clients

Methodology: Joint meetings with ASSET, GTA and operators are ongoing to develop new ways of informing tourists about the wide range of goods and services available from and through local communities.   These include picking up the ideas previously established to develop printed material and a tourist map showing local places of interest, markets etc.  
Timescale: Life of the project
Action to date: Tour Operators are happy to pass on destination information but do not think that the present information systems are adequate.   They would much prefer to receive information in electronic form so that they can selectively edit for their own purposes and clients.   Such information from ASSET should be seen as a way of bridging the gap in understanding between tourists and the host community.
Analysis and comment: Previous reports are being analysed for ideas, hopefully this will result in some progress.   The RTP will also look at the potential for extending the use of the internet as a source of information for tour operator clients.   Some ASSET information is already available on line to tour operators at www.asset-gambia.com. As a direct contribution to GAP, Dick Sisman & Associates has established this free internet information page to GAP for the foreseeable future.

Objective 9.   To look at the possibility of Tourist Information Points as a way of distributing non formal material

Methodology: The idea of tourist information points will be determined by the RTP.
Timescale: Discussions are ongoing.
Action to date: None.
Analysis and comment: There are no known tourist information points and this will be an issue where cost (provision and staffing) will need to be weighed against advantages.   Local guides already have some desks outside of the major hotels and ASSET brochures are available inside the properties.

Objective 10.   To use the Gambia project as a means to develop best RT practice more widely through   the development of a destination model and framework

Methodology: To our knowledge GAP is the first destination study which has brought together the main tour operator associations and a receptive government Agency and the informal sector within an institutional framework.   As RT has so many facets, stakeholders and issues it is essential that these should be linked through a strategic approach.   This approach, now developed in the Gambia, will have application much more widely and will be made available as the basis for other destination projects and for the production of best practice destination guides for tour operators.
Timescale: The long term structure and framework has been achieved.
Action to date: Dick Sisman has already made a wide study of destination models developed in the past 10 years.   Work to develop an industry destination model which will be known as Responsible Tourism Destination (RTD) is recently completed.   Tour Operators are supportive of such a development as a way of focusing their thinking on RT destination matters.   Information about this process is now available on an industry wide basis on this site.
Analysis and comment: Destination management issues and the tour operator's role in them are crucial within the industry.   GAP has helped to provide the first real test of a new consensus between the inbound market and the host community in destination management issues. 

Summary

Tour Operators made it clear at a joint meeting in September 2003 that they fully support the work of GAP and are prepared to seek solutions with destination managers to many of the problems identified.   They are also prepared to be proactive in developing new products and services which are mutually beneficial to their customers and the host community.   This has been reinforced at a meeting with all relevant operators in December 2003.

The new institutional framework of the Responsible Tourism Partnership has provided the mechanism for decision making in RT matters.   The new DMO will provide the monitoring and delivery capabilities.   A whole new dynamic has been shaped and is available to help to make Gambia an industry example in RT.

The Government of the Gambia has made it clear that RT will feature heavily in the wider development planning of the country.   The Secretary of State for Tourism and Culture recognises that "Tourism in the Gambia plays a crucial role in providing growth in trade and employment.   It also plays a key role in improving standards of living and lifting people out of poverty."   This is a key part of RT.

Specific examples of RT which will bring community benefits will be looked at in the near future.   These include a new "environment tour", the potential of fixed price markets, better ways to introduce tourists to local markets, better customer information services and   improved card and licensing systems for taxis and guides.

Other wider issues needing attention by the RTP include hotel classifications; landscape improvements and tree planting; health and hygiene standards; improved equipment for testing the standards for tourist taxis; the impacts of tourist growth; a national eco tourist strategy; income and employment in rural areas; an extension to the product base and the strengthening of institutions between the formal and non formal sectors.

The RT structure is now fully agreed, the framework developed and the DMO is funded for its first year.

All of those involved in the project would like to thank the Travel Foundation for their financial support. The main beneficiaries will be the people of the Gambia who are amongst the poorest - and yet the nicest - in the World.

What happens next?

One of the main failures with many "projects" is that they are not underpinned by a long term institutional framework and long term funding.   I am personally committed to making sure that this is not the case in the Gambia which I want to act as a model for other developing nations with growing tourism industries.  

There are therefore a further three things for me to do.  

1. To help to promote the RTP and its work free of charge on our website for at least the next five years.
2. To help the RTP to develop a rolling programme of projects and to help to secure funding for these.
3. To establish a new business in the Gambia which will generate profits to fund the longer term management of the RTP's DMO.

New business concept

One of the main problems faced by the skilled artisans of the Gambia is how to turn these skills into income from tourists. Some sell in craft and other markets but because of a lack of training and customer understanding they are not particularly successful. Many make the same products and as they are in direct competition often they hassle potential customers to buy their particular wares. Many tourists find this off-putting and trade is diminished.

Many more do not have access to these markets because of distance from them.   They find it difficult to attract customers because of location and lack of marketing.  Often they are not insured or checked for health and safety practices so Tour Operators cannot recommend them.

What we intend to do is to work with ASSET (The Association of Small-Scale Enterprises in Tourism) to build and establish a new Producers Market near to the main tourism centre. This will include craft demonstration areas and a myriad of local crafts sold in a hassle free environment. All goods, services, design and construction will be provided by Gambian People and the market will be staffed entirely by Gambians. We will be able to ensure that all money generated (less the costs of building and operating the business) will remain in the Gambia. A part of any profits will fund the RTP's DMO.

A number of my business associates have indicated a willingness to co-finance this market and I will be making a personal contribution.   We hope and expect to start work this year.

If, as I fully expect, this venture is successful and it is supported by operators and tourists it is something we can consider elsewhere in the Gambia and in other developing countries.

In the Gambia many of the people who you may meet live on very low incomes. The basic resources of running water, electricity, sewage systems are not available to thousands despite great strides taken by the Government. I estimate that the simple business concept that we are seeking to develop will create over 50 jobs directly, it will help hundreds of local artisans and craft people and the income from sales will help literally thousands of people in extended families to improve their lives.

When working with bodies like the RTP or on projects like GAP it is often easy to overlook the real benefits that might be achieved at the individual level and concentrate on the processes and procedures.  I am determined that this will not be the case in the Gambia.

Dick Sisman
December 2003