Eyebrows raised at ‘exploitative tourists’

The director general of the Gambia Tourism Authority (GTA) has admitted that some visiting tourists to The Gambia claim to be generous to  Gambian communities, when in fact they have underlining exploitative motives, which the Authority vehemently condemns.

Alhaji Alieu Mboge made this statement following the recent arrest of a Norwegian tourist by personnel of the Gambia Police Force, in connection with pornographic activities and sexual exploitation of young girls at his Yundum Yarambamba residence.

The GTA boss emphatically pointed out that in as much as the authority desires to see an increase in the number of  tourists in The Gambia, they always advocate for unquestionable sanity and decency in tourism.

On the mechanisms in place to curb child-sex tourism, Mr Mboge indicated that his institution is working closely with organisations working in the cause of child protection.

“We taken some measures such as putting up notice boards indicating warnings against child pornography and other related child exploitations in places such as at the Banjul International Airport, with a view to discouraging visitors from venturing into such indecent acts,” he said.

Mr Mboge called for concerted efforts to curb the menace and encouraged parents to be vigilant against such activities. He also advised parents, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds to discourage children from indulging into such activities, as they violate the Tourism Offences Act 2003.

He said the Act even prohibits taking indecent pictures of a child and went on to state that culprits caught for such offences are liable to imprisonment of up to five years.

“The latest unfortunate development [invoving] a Norwegian national in the tourism industry is really a serious crime and it violates the Act. These are the indecencies in tourism which are unacceptable and they call for a greater concern,” he noted.