Notes

Gambia is a popular tourist destination for Europeans for a number of reasons, firstly the weather is mostly all year round. The best months to visit Gambia is between November and June because it is hot and dry. It is also an English speaking country, so tourists can easily communicate with local people.

There are a number of advantages to tourism in Gambia, firstly it benefits the Gambians who receive jobs, however, the wage is low and can be demanding. 1 in 7 Gambians work in Tourism and 20% of Gambia's economy comes from Tourism. Most jobs such as cleaners, bartenders, fishermen and managers are common for Gambians. Jobs like repairing taxis are indirect jobs because, without tourists, there wouldn't be enough taxis, which would then mean less business for the taxi repair frim. The profits Gambia receives can be used to improve local facilities schools, police stations, libraries and such which benefits local Gambians.

There are however a number of Problems with tourism. The first issue is that tourists can sometimes unknowingly offend Gambians by wearing skimpy clothes, drinking alcohol and eating pork, this is because Gambia is a Muslim country with 90% of the population being Muslim. Another problem is that most of the money being spent by tourists don't end up in Gambian hands. For example, let's say a family who brought a package holiday to Gambia at a travel agent for £1000. Around half a quarter would go to the travel agent, a quarter would go to the company that set up the package holiday, half would go to the airline that would take the family to Gambia, leaving behind £350 going to the hotel. But the food and furniture at the hotel would be likely imported from Europe, so less than £200 would end up in Gambian hands. Another problem is that top jobs like managers at hotels would be filled by Europeans and their salary may go to their bank accounts back in Europe.

In conclusion, I believe that tourism is good for Gambia's economy and that it should be further developed and that the local Gambians should have a say in where tourist facilities are built. I also think that the Gambian minimum wage should be increased to please the local Gambians because many are jealous of the wealthy tourists that come flashing their expensive clothes and items.