This development was disclosed by the Information and Communication minister, Ebrima Sillah, during the inter-ministerial press conference held at the GRTS building on Friday.
Mr. Sillah who was speaking on behalf of other ministries further said that currently The Gambia’s Tourism Board in collaboration with The Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS) supported by the UNDP is conducting a Rapid Response Survey to ascertain the impact of the Covid-19 on tourism in The Gambia.
“The important exercise will among others help the government and other partners to undertake measures to mitigate the negative impacts, and most importantly formulate informed policy-decisions in the recovery of tourism in The Gambia.”
According to him, The Gambia just like other countries around the world is seriously affected as a result of travel restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the strategies, the Ministry of Tourism is promoting local tourism by upgrading bedding and other infrastructures across the country.
“Just recently, the minister of Tourism laid the foundation stone of several rural hotels between 3&4-star standards. The ultimate objective of this initiative is to create employment but also improve rural tourism infrastructure to reduce poverty and create employment opportunities for Gambia’s rural dwellers.”
