The Gambia government, through the Ministry of Tourism and Culture,
on Friday launched Gambia Tourism and Hospitability Institute, which is a
transformation of the former Gambia Hotel School.
The launching of the tourism institute is in response
to shortage of qualified personnel in the country’s tourism industry, which is
now the fastest-growing sector of the economy
and accounts for some 16 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP),
according to government figures.
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| Fatou Mas Jobe-Njie Tourism Minister of The Gambia |
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of Tourism and Culture,
Fatou Mas Jobe-Njie, said the transformation of the former Hotel School into
what is now the Gambia Tourism and Hospitability Institute is in response to
the skills challenge in the tourism sector and in keeping abreast of ever-changing
training needs of the industry.
She said apart from offering professional training to new people
entering the tourism and hospitality sector, the new institute will also be
offering professional upgrading for existing employees to help them progress in
their career.
The aim of the institute is to produce graduates that will be more
effective and efficient in their various vocations to which they will be
called.
The tourism minister calls on all and sundry to put hands on deck
in reaching out in order to make the new institute the Centre of Excellence in
tourism and hospitality not only for The Gambia but also for the sub-region.
“The Ministry of Tourism and Culture cannot do it all by itself,” the
tourism minister said, adding that everyone has a share of the responsibility
to make the new institute second to none.
According to her, the transformation of the institute provides a
congenial environment to kick-start new programmes in line with the country’s
forward march to offer high levels of qualifications so crucial to quality
service delivery in the tourism and hospitality sector.
In doing so, she said, the country will be able to attract more
tourists and tourism businesses will flourish, thereby the country’s economy will
achieve the growth that it deserves.
However, she noted, the complexity of tourism is such that this
expectation and aspiration is the same as for most other countries, developed
and developing.
“This leads us back to the peak of competitiveness,” she said. “Our competition cannot be easily assessed,
it is not as straightforward as it might be in other sectors and can be
volatile as well.
“This is why we need to be on our toes, to ensure that the services
we offer are of genuine high quality and as competitive as any other
destination that is considered good.”
Africa
contributes almost nothing in global tourism
