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Momodou
Denmark
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 Posted - 15 Mar 2010 : 14:40:09
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Gambians Should make good use of the River
By Kebba Camara
15-03-10
Peter Losen the General Manager of Lamin Lodge in Lamin and also the manager of Janjanbureh Camp in CRR told this reporter in an interview that Gambians should make good use of the river as a source to attract tourist into the country.
According to Peter the river is not in use as it is suppose to be and this prompted tourists stakeholders to raise concern over it. Peter made this comments when this reporter visited the Lamin lodge to find out how the tourist season is faring.
Mr. Losen arrives in the Gambia in the 70s. He came as a seaman and lived in the river for a while. Losen said most of the stakeholders are complaining that there is nothing done about the river” he said.
When asked what he thinks can be done to make the Gambia river useful, Mr. Losen said they have been in touch with ASSET and was quick to say that ASSET is willing to spend up to D100,000 to make the Gambia river functional. He said there are boats available already but are not in good standards for tourism. He said Gambia has a good river but the services given to tourists are not very good. He also said ASSET recently created boat association to make sure boats have standards to operate. He said they are also looking on ways to train people to captain boats to tourists and even non tourists alike.
Mr. Losen said “The River was the only means of traveling before independence and that should still be preserved. If people get up and come with initiative, then the tourism sector can always help. “I have a believe that tourists will come in large numbers if the river traveling is being implemented”, Mr. Losen said. Mr. Losen says we should not put all the blame on the global crises but should try to offer more services to attract tourists. “Some of these centres need quality improvement, tourist don’t come to see the cities but want to see the historical places of Africa which should be preserved, some of these buildings are historical elements and should not be neglected”, Losen suggested.
When asked how the tourist season in Lamin Lodge is faring this season? Peter said it is not too bad. He said there is still hope in the season because Europe is still freezing and they have no option but to come for the sunshine but he say that the tourism season in general is not very good because some tour operators have stopped their charter.
“Am not complaining in Lamin Lodge because we have quite a number of people coming over, lots of business for me in the informal sector”, he said. He said 63% of tourists giving reasons why they won’t return to the Gambia are because of the ‘bumsters’. He said his observation is that bumsters should not be completely stopped but there should be rules to guide them. “They need certain qualifications to be a guide, is not bad to be a bumster if the relation with the guests is positive”. He also said the industry should not be a monopoly of few ground handlers of tour operators.
Peter was also asked what he is doing to improve the lodge. He said within the complex he is planning to put small rooms so that guests can start spending a night or two at the lodge.
“We are also building outside and put more supplicated office. We also want to repair the roads which connects Lamin Lodge”.
Peter Losen said it is necessary for hotels and lodges to have international standards or train their staff internationally. He said they should not depend on only Hotel school students, they should develop on quality. Peter said people are still traveling and the international travelers can be supplemented by local travelers. He concluded that if flight connections are improved that will be another strong element in tourism. He said tourism can still do a lot better if certain things are put in place. This reporter is still going round to the tourism centres to see how they are faring with the 2009/2010 tourism seasonseason.
Source: Foroyaa Online
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