Tourism Diversification Project Validates Marketing and Branding Report to Boost Tourism
Destination Gambia © The Gambia Experience
By Fatoumata Jaiteh
In a bid to position The Gambia as a prime destination for tourism and investment, the Tourism Diversification and Resilience in The Gambia Project at the Ministry of Tourism hosted a two-day validation workshop that concluded on Friday, 7th February 2025. The validation workshop focused on refining and implementing a comprehensive tourism marketing, branding, and strategy framework to enhance The Gambia's tourism goals.
The event, which took place at the Senegambia Beach Hotel, brought together various stakeholders and experts in the tourism sector to explore comprehensive findings from The Gambia's marketing and branding situational analysis. It also offered an opportunity to examine various planned options and to identify key investment opportunities aimed at driving growth and diversification of the tourism sector.
Delegates listening to Speakers © Askanwi
A previous publication by Askanwi highlighted some of the country's Top Tourism Destination Sites Reviewed by the Diversification Project. https://www.askanwi.com/news/top-10-tourism-sites-report-reviewed-by-diversification-project-and-partners
According to a report by the Ministry of Information, "In an effort to promote Destination Gambia, Journey Consultancy Firm has been contracted by Tourism Diversification and Resilience in The Gambia Project to develop a marketing and branding strategy for the country."
The report added that the "National Tourism Marketing and Brand Strategy will entail key priority actions, including the rebranding of the destination, identification of specific investment opportunities, investment profiles and potential investors for niche opportunities, improvement of digital channels, production of key collateral, and marketing capacity building and mentorship," the report noted.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the Tourism Diversification and Resilience Project in The Gambia is being financed by the World Bank. A World Bank report notes that the objective of the project is to enhance selected tourism destinations in The Gambia through targeted improvements in the sector.
One of the Speakers at the Validation © Askanwi
Speaking on behalf of the Tourism Minister, Project Director Mr. Momodou Ceesay lauded the completion of two comprehensive situational analysis reports, noting that one of the reports focuses on marketing and branding while the other addresses investment promotion. Mr Ceesay stressed that the strategy "clearly outlined key weaknesses and challenges of destination Gambia from a marketing, branding, and investment perspective." However, he added that the reports have "equally identified the key strengths and opportunities that the destination can utilize to overcome its weaknesses in order to develop tourism."
Project Director Ceesay also noted that the reports outlined recommendations that will help feed into the next phase of the project, which includes
Drafting the destination brand strategy.
Drafting the destination marketing strategy.
Drafting a tourism investment strategy and
Drafting a 5-year destination marketing, branding, and investment action plan with specific actions, proposed budgets, clear roles and responsibilities, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
