The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is set to transform the historic communities of Albreda, Juffureh and Kunta Kinteh Island into a world-class, community-driven heritage destination as part of efforts to end seasonal tourism.
The new direction was unveiled Thursday at a stakeholder validation workshop organized by the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) of the Tourism Diversification and Resilience in The Gambia Project (TDRGP) to review the Visitor Management Plan (VMP) for these sites.
The VMP is a comprehensive framework for enhancing visitor experience, heritage conservation, community participation, interpretation, governance and sustainable tourism development at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Albreda, Juffureh and Kunta Kinteh Island.
The forum gave stakeholders an opportunity to review key findings, recommendations and implementation priorities ahead of final adoption.
Momodou Ceesay, Project Director, said the TDRGP aims to reduce The Gambia's over-dependence on seasonal coastal tourism by building a more diversified, resilient and sustainable model that leverages cultural, historical and natural assets.
Since 2022, he said, the project has implemented interventions to improve tourism infrastructure, develop new products, strengthen destination management systems and increase participation of local communities and small businesses in the tourism value chain.
A major achievement, Ceesay explained, was The Gambia's first-ever comprehensive assessment of tourism sites dubbed 'the Demand and Destination Site Evaluation', which evaluated over 60 potential sites nationwide through field missions, desk research, stakeholder consultations and a structured scoring system.
The outcomes led to the shortlisting of ten priority destinations, with at least one in each region, for investment to diversify the national tourism offer.
These three sites - Albreda, Juffureh and Kunta Kinteh Island - were part of those ten, alongside the wider Fort Bullen, designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Director General of the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Hassoum Ceesay, representing the Permanent Secretary of Tourism, Arts and Culture, described the validation as another milestone for the World Bank IDA-funded project.
He noted that while tourism contributes substantially to GDP and jobs, it remains highly seasonal and dependent on European markets between November and April.
"The Gambia is blessed with warm climate, coastal landscapes, and rich biodiversity, including important bird-watching and riverine ecosystems," he said. "What most Gambian may not know is that the Ministry has been working diligently to implement policies that will diversify our products and ensure all-year-round tourism."
He added the VMP moves beyond isolated infrastructure upgrades to establish an integrated framework covering visitor experience, heritage protection, access, signage, interpretation, public art, community participation and governance.
Lead Consultant Dr. Simon Woodward, who has visited The Gambia for 16 years, said the sites can match any in the sub-region in terms of World Heritage status, but praised the communities for their passion.
"Every time I visit Kunta Kinteh Island, Albreda and Juffureh, it is a real pleasure to meet communities so involved with their heritage and so committed to sharing it with visitors, including the Diaspora," Woodward said.
"What sets Albreda and Juffureh apart is its passionate community who want to share not just the history of slavery, but also their contemporary way of life."
Stakeholders are expected to provide final inputs before the plan is adopted.
