By Sarjo Brito
Following the ministry of tourism’s announcement to open the forthcoming tourist season in October, they are now also amending its guidelines on the health and precautionary procedures on the prevention of COVID-19 for visitors.
The ministry through a memo to the Gambia Tourism Board stated that visitors will no longer be subjected to quarantine and that arriving passengers in possession of a negative COVID-19 test of not more than 72hrs will not be tested in The Gambia.
The Gambia’s tourism sector has been heavily hit by the coronavirus pandemic and even though it is not clear what this season will look like, subjecting its visitors to a mandatory two weeks quarantine could have a huge impact on the number of visitors as most tourists visiting the Gambia mostly stay for two weeks.
The virus pandemic has triggered an unprecedented crisis in the tourism economy, given an immediate and immense shock to the sector. According to reports, COVID-19 impact point to 60% decline in international tourism in 2020 and could surge to 80% if recovery is delayed until December.
