By Jainaba Kargbo & Alhagie Babou Jallow
The Minister of Tourism and Culture Hamat Bah, on Monday December 12th launched a 68 Million Dollar World Bank funded diversification and resilience project. The five-year project is meant to support the tourism sector to diversify the products offered through sites and destination enhancement.
Speaking at the launching ceremony held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara Conference Centre, Minister Bah stated that the project shall improve the marketing and branding of destination Gambia through capacity building of key institution to inform policy decision based on timely and up to date data.
He added that the project will improve the capabilities of tourism-related micro, small and medium enterprises and improve funding to help them grow.
He informed that the project will also build the resilience of the tourism sector in The Gambia by financing coastal infrastructure work in the West Coast Tourism Development Area and rehabilitating important tourism sites to ensure the sector is better positioned to recover from any future shock.
Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Seedy Keita said most of the tourism infrastructure is currently located along the coast in the western part of the country, facing high risks of destruction in the event of envisaged sea-level rise, causing huge material and financial losses affecting lives and livelihoods; hence the need for the large scale infrastructure support for the diversification and resilience of the tourism sector.
Mr. Keita said the tourism sector is one of the main contributors to the GDC and employment and also a major source of foreign direct investment.
Ebrima Jawara, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Environment Climate Change and Natural Resources reminded that The Gambia has recently developed its long-term climate strategy for achieving low-carbon, climate resilience development by 2050 as called for the Paris agreement.
The World Bank Resident Representative, Feyi Boroffice said the World Bank Partnership with The Gambia includes the commitment to assist the government to achieve inclusive and resilience private sector-driven job creation while managing the effects of climate change.
