West Africa Responsible Tourism Conference MBOKA 2009. 3 - 5 December 2009, Dakar, Senegal

From the 3^rd – 5^th December 2009, the “Association of Small Scale Enterprises in Tourism” (ASSET) in The Gambia and the “National Organisation for Tourism Integration in Senegal” (ONITS) in Senegal will be presenting the 3rd edition of the Senegambia Tourism Fair MBOKA 2009. This is a unique opportunity to showcase and promote the Senegambian Tourism Industry to an international audience.

Tourism is playing an increasingly important part in the development of the sub-Saharan region, not only in economic terms but also in the preservation of their rich cultural heritage and their environment. To develop tourism and indeed the whole economy along sustainable guidelines the Senegambia tourism industry has taken into consideration socio-economic, environmental and economic principles.

For this edition of MBOKA 2009, the organisers have decided on the theme of “Women Entrepreneurship”. Daouda Niang, director at ASSET explains: “Women play an ever increasing active part in developing our economy and to foster and promote this trend, this years’ Fair has been themed accordingly”.

He adds: “Tourism must be seen as an important and integral sector of the economic development of our country – all sectors of industry are inter-linked and benefit from a thriving tourist trade”.

This stance towards sustainable economic development through sustainable tourism is a beacon for the rest of the West African region pointing towards what can be achieved through sustainable means. This being, other countries may just follow suit to make West Africa the next destination for the responsible tourist looking for new horizons, awe-inspiring experiences and learning opportunities whilst giving them the option to give back to the destination they visit.

Visit the Senegambia Travel Market website for more information on MBOKA 2009.

Please visit www.westafricadiscovery.com for more information on our web portal.

West Africa Travel Market - MBOKA 2008

West Africa has been, for the past couple of decades, a popular destination for holiday makers seeking sun, beaches, and luxury hotels. However, many of the holidays that cater for the European market are, to say the least, not responsible.

Recently, new initiatives have been seeking to promote a responsible/sustainable form

of tourism which would directly benefit local communities and environments whilst educating the tourists in the diverse and colourful cultural, environmental and historical heritages found across West Africa.

The West African Travel Market (WATM) is one of these initiatives, and, as quoted in their brochure, aims to facilitate the co-operation between tourism businesses from West Africa and the European travel trade. It acts as an open platform where local businesses and communities, international tour operators, investors, NGO’s and governments can meet to support a sustainable development of the tourism sector in West Africa.

The WATM is established as a permanent initiative offering an integrated set of instruments and actions such as an online market event, international marketing support and an annual West African Travel Market Business-to-Business event.

Examples of the type of projects that this initiative aims to support can increasingly be found across West Africa. The Tiwai Island wildlife sanctuary is one of them. Situated on an island in the Moa river in Sierra Leone, this venture is located in an area with one of the highest density of primates in the world, and is home to endangered chimpanzees. The park offers a unique experience to discover the rich flora and fauna of the rainforest through forest trekking, wildlife watching and boat tours. The sanctuary is a community conservation programme, managed by the Island Administrative Committee, which represents both communities, government, universities & conservation organizations. All funds raised go towards the further protection of the park as well as supporting the Community Development Fund.

This year, the WATM, MBOKA 2008 was held in Banjul, The Gambia, and hosted a large turn out of a wide range of stakeholders such as:
• European tour operators searching for new and sustainable tourism products
• Sustainable products looking for market access
• Hotels and destinations interested to become more sustainable
• Governments looking for exchange of experiences and success stories
• Promotion agencies searching for partnerships
• Development agencies identifying new approaches and promising initiatives
• Private investors looking for opportunities and inspiration

So if you are interested in participating in the next West African Travel Market, don’t hesitate to visit http://www.westafricantravelmarket.com/ for updated information on sustainable products, to meet with international tour operators, or to register for the next MBOKA West African Travel Market.