Fire-eaters at Makasutu – courtesy of The Gambia Experience
Sun-starved Brits have long beaten a path to the Gambia to escape the dreary UK winter.
The tiny West African country’s hotels and resorts have gained a well-earned reputation for delivering value, and with temperatures averaging just over 30C during our winter it’s significantly hotter than alternatives such as the Canaries.
Only a six-hour flight from the UK, it’s not much farther either. Plus, English is the offical language and it’s in the same time zone.
Market overview
The Gambia is largely a late winter-sun market, and now is the time to start pushing it to clients. The main operators are country specialist The Gambia Experience, Thomas Cook, Cosmos Holidays and Olympic Holidays.
Karen Durham, product manager at The Gambia Experience, says the country’s tourism offering has moved upmarket in recent years, with more four and five-star properties added and investment in infrastructure, from new bars and restaurants to roads.
“Overall, we’re seeing a trend towards the top end and that’s where we’re developing our product range,” says Durham. To this end, the operator, which is running five weekly flights from Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester this winter, has launched its Unique Collection of ‘barefoot luxury’ properties to sit alongside its Luxury Collection. Premium-class upgrades are offered twice a week from Gatwick.
There are currently four Unique properties, all offered exclusively, including two new options for winter 2011-12: the Omakan, a 15-suite boutique hotel about three miles inland, and Sitanunku Lodge, comprising five lodges on the north bank of the Gambia River. The properties are typically in less touristy areas and are designed to satisfy the increased demand the operator is seeing for multi-centre bookings. “Some people are doing three or four-centre trips now,” says Durham.
Thomas Cook features the Gambia in a number of programmes and will resume its winter flight service at the beginning of November. Seven nights’ bed and breakfast at the five-star Sheraton Gambia, near the fishing village of Brufut, costs from £629 with Thomas Cook Holidays with Style, while seven nights’ all-inclusive at the four-star Laico Atlantic Banjul in Banjul Beach with Thomas Cook cost from £694. Both include flights from Manchester departing November 2.
Strong sales last winter have led Cosmos, which features the Gambia in its Distant Dreams programme, to expand its programme this winter, backed by a 50% increase in capacity on its charter flight service.
“Sales for November, December and January have been very strong so far, and we are expecting the latter part of winter to perform just as well,” says David Fraser, Cosmos’s product manager. “It’s an affordable winter-sun destination, which is what our customers are seeking.”
New for winter 2011-12 is the three-diamond-rated Footsteps Eco Lodge in the resort of Gunjur, a recent recipient of the Travelife gold award for its strong green credentials, and the four-star Hotel Laico Atlantic in Banjul, priced from £569 on a bed-and-breakfast basis.
Also new is the all-inclusive package at the five-star Sheraton Gambia, priced from £959, while its lead-in price this winter is £575 for a seven-night break at the two-diamond-rated Badala Park in Kotu.
Olympic Holidays’ Gambia programme features 15 hotels, from the two-star Mansea Beach Hotel in lively Kololi to the Sheraton Gambia, packaged with Monarch flights from Gatwick. However, it has not added any new product this winter as it doesn’t expect the market to grow. “We believe that, as in the summer, holidaymakers are more likely to stick to what are seen as ‘easy’ and familiar destinations closer to home,” says commercial director Photis Lambrianides.
Pool at Sheraton Gambia – photo from Thomas Cook
On the beach
Of the country’s resorts, Kololi is the biggest, with the nearby SeneGambia strip the main area for nightlife and eating out. Quieter options include Brufut and Cape Point, while Kotu is home to Fajara Golf Club and one of the best beaches. Bijilo is a great bet for wildlife fans as it’s on the edge of the Forest Park.
On the accommodation side, higher-end options include the Coco Ocean Resort & Spa, Sheraton Gambia and The Kairaba. A great bet for couples is the 18-suite, adult-only Ngala Lodge, where the clifftop setting offers cracking views. All four properties are featured by The Gambia Experience.
Rises in the cost of eating out and drinking have also helped fuel the all-inclusives. For winter 2011-12 The Gambia Experience has added all-inclusive upgrade options at the four-star Laico Atlantic Beach, the two-star Palma Rima and the four-star Ocean Bay.
Away from the beach
All-inclusives may be on the rise but at the same time the Gambia is becoming more than a fly-and-flop destination. Eco-tours, offered by the likes of Gambia Tours, take in local villages and projects such as the Gambia Is Good Farm in Yundum, along with attractions such as the crocodile pool in Bakau and lively Albert Market in the capital Banjul.
Clients can also head up the Gambia River to explore the ancient mangrove forest and creeks and check out the wildlife, staying in lodges like Tendaba camp. The Gambia Experience offers fishing trips and has two, three-day birdwatching tours in February led by Chris Packham, presenter of the BBC’s Springwatch (maximum 17 places). Clients pay a supplement priced from £345.
Adding Senegal
As a long, narrow strip of land flanking the river that gives it its name, the Gambia is encircled by French-speaking Senegal and a lot of excursions visit the country. Twin-centres with Senegal are also becoming popular.
Indeed, The Gambia Experience’s brochure now incorporates products from sister brand The Senegal Experience, including 12 hotels. Its Rivers of West Africa Cruise takes in the Gambia and Saloum rivers, with options including a seven-day cruise with a two-night stay in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, and a five-day cruise departing from Banjul with a minimum two-night stay in a Gambian coastal hotel.
In Senegal, The Gambia Experience’s Durham recommends clients base themselves in the Sine Saloum delta and check out the big game in Fathala Nature Reserve – as featured on the operator’s Circle of Life excursion – or the Bandia Reserve, accessible from Dakar.
And if your clients have a hankering to see the megalitihic Wassu circles, 200 miles upriver from Banjul, you could do worse than book a spot on Exodus’s new 14-day Senegal and Gambia Adventure (from £2,199).
Sample packages
The Gambia Experience’s lead-in price in its latest Gambia brochure is £525 for a seven-night holiday at the ‘two-grade’ Palma Rima hotel on a bed-and-breakfast basis. Unique/Luxury Collection holidays are priced from £898. gambia.co.uk, 0845 330 2066
Olympic Holidays’ Gambia programme leads in at £549 for seven nights at the two-star Badala Park Hotel, in Kotu, including Monarch flights from Gatwick
on December 13. olympicholidays.com, 0800 093 3322
Cosmos has seven, 10 and 14-night B&B breaks at the Footsteps Eco Lodge priced from £655, £759 and £789 respectively, including flights from Manchester or Gatwick to Banjul. cosmos-holidays.co.uk, 0871 423 8518
Airtours has a seven-night B&B break at the three-star Golden Beach in Bijilo from £445, including flights from Manchester on November 3 and transfers. airtours.co.uk, 0844 800 7799
