THE GAMBIA - SMILING COAST OF WEST AFRICA
Gambia has
characteristics that set it apart from many other destinations. It is
only 6 hours away from the main European destinations which is why it
is a popular and attractive destination in terms of price and it
attracts more and more travelers looking for sun, sand and cultural
experience that this country offers on every step. High-quality
tourism offer that encourages responsible and important partnerships
in tourism provides tourists with a unique experience and promotes
socio-economic benefit for Gambia's population.
Tourism is
a very important industry in Gambia because it has the main function
in foreign currency exchange and because it influences the exchange
rate that is one of the pillars of eradicating poverty. The
government policy promotes tourism and its contribution to the
economic growth. Their objective is to make the role of tourism in
the economy more important and to improve standard of living of
Gambia's population. The government is continuing to expand the
tourism market, improve quality standards and ensure a sensible use
of the Tourism Development Area. In short, they are committed to
ideals of responsible tourism. It is the responsibility of all
interest groups to cooperate with us in creating better living
conditions for the people living in Gambia and those who visit it.
It is a
fact that the whole country and its people represent a tourism
product. Apart from the traditional sun, sand and sea, the main
attraction is the Gambia River. The river is navigable and safe. Bird
and dolphin watching, sports fishing and exploring tropical plants
are the principal trips that tourists take. Nature lovers can visit
villages, towns and people by participating in river cruises on the
Gambia River. When we travel to Gambia we do not help only specific
people and projects. By visiting this beautiful country we directly
influence it in various ways. By driving around the country we
increase taxi drivers’ daily income, by buying food we influence
working positions in restaurants, shops and markets; we also
encourage the production of handmade objects and souvenirs; there is
a higher turnout at traditional festivals and a higher number of sold
tickets, by renting vacation accommodations we influence working
positions of many people, sightseeing increases the income of workers
in tourism, transport operators, guides etc.
From the
cultural heritage point of view, Gambia is very ethnically diverse
and offers its visitors a wide array of experience. Attractions also
include shows and arts – dance and music are highly developed and
have great significance. It also provides a rich culinary experience
because Gambian selection of food is very diverse and interesting.
Last but
not least, Gambia is a country of numerous historical buildings,
monuments and archeological areas that are inscribed on the World
Heritage List.
However,
the Travel As A Volunteer program is not entirely dedicated to
sightseeing because we visit Gambia as volunteers and devote our time
to voluntary work, giving out rice, visiting poor local families,
children, small villages and local schools, as well as to socializing
with inhabitants of this country of smiling people as it is also
called.
The idea of
the »Travel As A Volunteer« program was formed during our voluntary work for the Kids Are The World association. The
association is a non-governmental, voluntary, non-profit and
humanitarian organization that helps poor families and children, and
its main goal is to improve the quality of life for children, young
people and families and to promote education and inclusion of
children in education from pre-school to teenage years in Gambia and
Tanzania.
»Travel and help« does not represent a new trend in the tourism industry, it is merely a different way of combining traveling and voluntary work and, consequently, it unites something pleasant and something useful. Volunteers traveling this way work on local projects (orphanage, local school etc.), visit the country, meet people, their culture and traditions, and experience the country as it really is and not as some people try to present it to tourists.
Travelers adjust and
allocate the time dedicated to voluntary work to suit their wishes
and the purpose of their visit to a certain country. Considering the
world situation, this type of traveling is growing in popularity
precisely because of the feeling that you do something good for
somebody. Traveling like this awakens the people and makes them
realize that there are still a lot of people around the world who
live very modestly and that we can completely change their lives with
a nice word or a friendly gesture.
For more information please contact us at info@kidsaretheworld.com
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