Introduction - UNDP The Gambia

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of the country’s membership of the World
Trade Organisation and the country’s
eligibility under AGOA.
DOSTIE is also being developed as a central
information base for the private sector,
especially for small producers like
horticultural producers who need to be linked
with consumers in the tourist industry, such
as hotels and restaurants, and to overseas
markets. It should be noted at this point that
although some degree of success has been
achieved in creating links between local
producers and the hotel industry, this is
largely limited to fresh vegetable and fresh
fish supplies. Most other foodstuffs, such as
meat, poultry and dairy products, are
imported. Besides, these supplies to hotels are
not always regular or consistent in the quality
and quantity required by the tourist industry.
In effect, the linkage between local producers
and consumers in the tourist industry is still
very weak.
DOSTIE still lacks policy focus and the
institutional capacity to effectively promote
foreign investment for the growth and
development of the manufacturing and
processing industries, which are essential to
expand the economic base of the country, for
the creation of jobs, generation of income
and, consequently, the reduction of poverty
and the achievement of the other MDGs.
There are several constraints that inhibit the
growth and development of the tourist
industry in The Gambia, namely:
• inadequate market expansion strategies
• over-dependence on foreign tour
operators for the promotion and
marketing of The Gambia as a tourist
destination
• weak linkage between the tourist
industry and local producers.
The development of the tourist industry is
hampered by the constraints of lack of
adequate public institutional support, lack of
effective policy support for growth in tourist
arrivals and the burden of the multiple-tax
regime and duties imposed on the private
sector in the tourist industry, which act as a
disincentive to the growth and sustainability
of the industry.
The seasonal nature of the tourist trade is also
a major constraint to the growth and
development of the industry. The tourist
season is limited to five months of the year,
namely, November to March.
The current capacity building strategies at
DOSTC, which are directed at assisting the
growth and development of the tourist
industry, are restricted in scope and will
inevitably have a limited impact on the
growth and development of the industry.
3.3.2 Capacity Building at the
Department of State for Tourism and
Culture
The tourist industry in The Gambia, although
small in international terms (with annual
visitor arrivals of some 100,000), is
substantial as it averages a 12 percent share of
the GDP and provides direct employment,
including self-employment, to some 10,000
people.
Tourism is a substantial foreign exchange
earner for the economy and therefore should
be categorised as an export sector. It is also a
substantial tax revenue earner for the
government, and uses local agricultural
produce.
Capacity building components consist of
strengthening the capacity of the Gambia
Tourism Authority (GTA) to market The
Gambia as a tourist destination in the
international market, particularly in Europe. It
also includes strengthening linkages between
tourist industry consumers and local
producers.
It is evident from the multiplicity and
complex nature of the constraints that beset
the tourist industry that the above-cited
strategies hardly address the needs of the
sector. The GTA still lacks the institutional
capacity and financial resources to afford a
presence in the tourist emitting countries to
promote the country as a competitive tourist
destination. Its budget is inadequate to allow
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Building Capacity for the Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in The Gambia National Human Development Report 2005
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