[{"bbox": [144, 154, 425, 185], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2. RATIONALE"}, {"bbox": [85, 220, 215, 246], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### 2.1 Context"}, {"bbox": [97, 267, 1133, 350], "category": "Text", "text": "With a gross domestic product (GDP) of USD 2.4 billion (World Bank, 2021) and a population of 2.3 million people (Gambia Labour Force Survey, 2018), The Gambia continues to be among the world's weakest economies both nominally and per capita."}, {"bbox": [96, 368, 1133, 652], "category": "Text", "text": "The country attracted a record number of tourists (235,788) in 2019 but was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the crisis, the sector provided 42,000 direct and 40,000 indirect jobs and accounted for approx. 16% of the GDP. It generated about USD 85 million in foreign exchange earnings annually, making it the largest foreign exchange earner for the country. Several factors favour tourism in The Gambia: the proximity to Europe, favourable tropical weather, affordability, hospitable people, rich culture and tradition, an English-speaking populace, and a peaceful and stable political environment. Despite these endowments, the sector has not been able to realise its potential in terms of revenue capture and its contribution to the country's socio-economic development. This is due to a combination of factors, including the sector's excessive dependency on international tour operators, strong seasonality, a history and image of a low-budget destination, poor infrastructures, and an ineffective strategy to diversify the product offering and attract new source markets."}, {"bbox": [97, 671, 1133, 844], "category": "Text", "text": "The action is in line with the EU-Gambia partnership under the MIP (2021-2027) which aims to support the achievement of the National Development Plan (NDP) and is articulated around three Priority Areas (PAs): i) Promoting Good Governance; ii) Green economy for sustainable growth and jobs and iii) Human development. The MIP recognizes that such intervention is indispensable to The Gambia, whose economy relies largely on agriculture and tourism, which are both affected by environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity and climate change. It has at the same time the potential to create numbers of 'green jobs'."}, {"bbox": [97, 855, 1133, 967], "category": "Text", "text": "At the same time, Africa-EU alliance for sustainable growth and job creation action is imperative in a country where un- or underemployment is prevalent and is one of the causes for migration. Preserving and valorising the environment and biodiversity and better managing natural resources will be key for achieving this, along with social protection."}, {"bbox": [97, 986, 1133, 1184], "category": "Text", "text": "The programme will also support results achieved from the Gambia's National Development Plan (2017-2021) which identified private sector led growth and tourism as strategic priorities with a focus to promote an inclusive and culture-centred tourism for sustainable growth. The Gambia's National Tourism Policy and Strategy (2021-2030) recognizes that the industry requires a paradigm shift to better serve the country including undertaking demand-led product development, increasing linkages with other sectors, improving air and sea access for tourists, fostering domestic tourism, and increasing the impact in terms of revenue generation, employment and to make tourism a more people-centred and culturally focused venture."}, {"bbox": [85, 1218, 320, 1247], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### 2.2 Problem Analysis"}, {"bbox": [97, 1265, 865, 1291], "category": "Text", "text": "The Gambian tourism sector performs below its potential due to a number of factors"}, {"bbox": [97, 1310, 508, 1336], "category": "Section-header", "text": "**Weak sector coordination and regulations**"}, {"bbox": [97, 1355, 1133, 1639], "category": "Text", "text": "Over the last three decades, The Gambia adopted several policies, strategies and plans to guide the development of the tourism sector. However, in spite of the comprehensive package of policy prescriptions, The Gambia's competitive advantage eroded over time. A poor record of implementation, short-term planning, weak accountability for programmatic goals and inconsistencies in existing legislations and regulations contributed to it. Further, the sector lacks a coherent framework of collaboration and partnerships between key industry stakeholders including the private sector. Tourism development is led by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture with the support of three institutions, each of them established by act of parliament: The Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard), the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) and the Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute (GTHI). The institutions face capacity gaps related to a number of their functions including product development or enforcement of intellectual property rules. The sector also suffers from weak environmental and social"}, {"bbox": [1038, 1682, 1143, 1705], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 5 of 25"}]