may-2012

Above left: Entrance to The Sandele Lodge Above right: The Sandele's co-founder, Geri Mitchell
is testament to the commercial appeal of the kind of holidaymaker
who believes in treading lightly when travelling. The smallest
country in mainland Africa, the 11,000-square-kilometre state
tucked along riverbanks three-quarters of the way down the
Senegalese coast has long been a winter sun destination.
European holidaymakers first came to The Gambia in serious
numbers back in 1965, when an enterprising Swede, Bertil
Harding, brought 300 of his countrymen over on a pioneering
package holiday.
The tourist trade grew, thanks to reliable sunshine, a relatively
short flight time from Europe, a friendly national character, great
wildlife and little jetlag (the difference between Banjul’s clocks
and Central European Time is only one hour).
By the 1990s, around 100,000 visitors a year were coming –
roughly one for every 15 Gambians. Around this time, many
within the business began to realise that high-volume package
tourism, though very welcome, came with drawbacks. Package
tourists tended to stay within their all-inclusive compounds,
contributed little to the local economy and did little to care for
The Gambia’s fragile natural environment.
In 2002 the Gambian government sent a delegation to the
Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development. That
year too the government put into place a number of policies
intended to aid both the private and the state sectors in achieving
and maintaining a socially and environmentally sound tourism
industry.
Fatou Raji, director general of the Gambia Tourism Authority,
says the remit of its sustainable tourism policies is broad. “They
look at the responsibilities of the tourism,” she says. “You should
bear in mind economic, social and environmental concerns.”
There are plenty of places aside from Sandele that embody
these principles. The Sitanuku Lodge (tel.+220 77 55 000,
sitanunkulodge.com) on the north bank of the River Gambia is a
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short boat ride along the mangrove banks from the bustle of
downtown Banjul. Overseen by the Belgian-born hotelier Marcel
Hendrickx, the Sitanuku’s modern, bungalow-style lodges run on
solar power and draw their water from a nearby borehole. They
have a private beach, a beautiful pool and a great restaurant, yet
they’re fully committed to low-impact holidaymaking.
“We’ve used LED lighting, employ staff from the nearby village
and tried to source materials locally,” says Hendrickx.
Across the water, the Mandina Lodge in the Makasutu Culture
Forest, (makasutu.com), offers guests the opportunity to stay
right on the river, in solar-powered, stilted lodges. They’ve also
jungle rooms, set among the forest’s foliage, as well as fine
dining, great fishing and bird watching opportunities. Book early
though – Mandina visitor numbers are limited to minimise the
impact on the forest.
Other environmental initiatives reach beyond the reception
desk. Gambia is Good, for example, is a local undertaking that
helps small farmers sell their goods directly to hotels and tourist
restaurants.
“Once these foods were from Senegal, or even Spain,” says
Gambia is Good adviser Adama Bah, “but now small farmers,
who are often women, can sell directly to the big hotels and
make a good profit.”
Bah also serves on the boards of the Association of Small Scale
Enterprises in Tourism (Asset), which looks after the interests of
taxi drivers, tour guides, juice pressers, fruit sellers and small
guesthouses. Since its inception in April 2000, Asset has proved
remarkably successful.
“Asset is a world leader,” says Harold Goodwin, professor of
tourism at Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK, who has
long taken an interest in The Gambia. Goodwin is similarly
impressed by Gambia is Good – it is, he says, “a stunning success,
really benefiting local communities”.