Ravi Chudasama                02/05/2007

The Gambia

           The Gambian Flag

The Gambia has a population of 1.038 million people. Most Gambians rely on tourism to feed their family and to get through their lives day by day. The benefits of tourism in The Gambia is that is brings in employment for the hosts. They are able to sell souvenirs on stalls and work in hotels and chalets where tourists are staying. Tourism brings in different kinds of cultures and each culture is acknowledged and information is taken in and learnt about different cultures. The condition which the Gambians live in has been taken into account and charities try to raise money to help the country. The impact of tourism on the local community was that the tourists were separated from the residents of The Gambia. Tour operators thought if the tourists saw how the people of The Gambia lived this would put them off visiting again. Recreational facilities were made for tourists like swimming pools and gyms which the local community had no access to. Tourist guards were introduced on the beaches to stop the local population mixing with the tourists. Land owned by the local community was taken without any compensation. People who lived on the outskirts of The Gambia do not have any land to grow crops or plant vegetables. The lack of jobs for the people of The Gambia have forced residents mainly children to resort to other ways to make money. They would try to befriend tourists by explaining their background and trying to win the tourists affections. Some would offer to guide tourists and help them to bargain for goods and services. By doing this they hope to get rewarded for protecting the tourists. Some become male or female prostitutes and have sexual relationships with tourists for money. One cannot say that tourism brought in prostitution, drugs and homosexuality into the country but it does provide a wider market for these kinds of activities.

Join now!

                                                                   Around the Market, November 2000 Dress is an important impact on the religion

of the Gambian people. Most of the Gambian population are Muslims and it is their religion to cover themselves up. Seeing tourists wearing next to nothing on beaches can offend them. The impact of tourism on the physical environment is that the Gambian coastline has taken a huge beating over the last few ...

This is a preview of the whole essay