By Fatou Dahaba
At least 189 tourists arrived with the TUI flight in The Gambia from the UK last Wednesday night, as the 2023 tourist season gets underway.
TUI is a worldwide tour operator touted as the largest in the world and is flying tourists from the UK to destination Gambia this season.
In 2022, as many as 374,000 tourists arrived by air, and 11,000 arrived by sea, according to figures released by The Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard).
Foday Bah, head of marketing at the GTBoard, said that based on a strategy they have adopted, “expectations are high that figures are going to increase a lot.”
Regarding security for tourists, Bah said measures put in place ensure tourists will enjoy their stay and are safe.
Charbel Hobeika, managing director of Gambia Tours, a local ground tour operator, said so far, four flights from the UK, two from Manchester, two from Gadrid, two from Amsterdam, and two flights from Brussels shared between Cape Verdi and Banjul have so far arrived in the country.
