The
appalling situation of the restrooms at the Banjul International Airport is a
concern to many, especially those who have been frequenting the country’s only
main airport.
One
such frequent visitor is Oumie Sise, manager of Discovery Tours, who described
the condition some tourists met around the male restrooms as “embarrassing to a
nation” that prides itself as a renowned tourism destination
Her
remarks came following the arrival of guests on Friday afternoon on board The
Gambia Experience; some of whom visited the restrooms only to find the whole
floor wet with some sand particles, not to talk of the urine odour emanating
from the place.
Sise,
the manager of Discovery Tours, ground handler of The Gambia Experience, could
not hide her concern to the awaiting travel and tour reporters, who sounded her
opinion over the issue of sanitation at the country’s main airport.
“It
is embarrassing to see that driving right from the airport gate down to the
hotels all you see is dumping sites every few meters.”
She
said ‘if the country really wants to move forward there is need to work on the
basics and that is a priority that we need to focus on to make sure our country
is cleaner and more cleaner’.
In
spite of the massive renovation the airport is undergoing, she said the current
situation of the airport restrooms is still unacceptable and “the airport
authorities must accept and work towards improving the facility for the common
good of all of us because it is not only tourists that use the place.”
Sise
thus called on the airport management to take a look at the basic services like
the cleanliness of the environment and facilities that are an eyesore for not
just only the tourists that come to the country, but even the locals.
She
reminded that as a renowned tourism destination, authorities must always work
harder to improve on the level of services delivery in the sector.
