Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Mr. Gaye TheVoice
Published on 2024-03-21 00:17:01
The staff of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, along with its institutions, gathered at the Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute to bid farewell to Honourable Hamat NK Bah and welcome the newly appointed Minister of Tourism and Culture, Honourable Abdoulie Jobe. Honourable Hamat NK Bah, who was redeployed to the Ministry of Lands, Regional Government, and Religious Affairs, reflected on his accomplishments during his tenure as Minister of MOTC from 2017 to 15th March 2024.
During his speech, Minister Hamat NK Bah highlighted the achievements made at the Ministry and its affiliated institutions, including the Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard), Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute (GTHI), and National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC). He mentioned the construction of a state-of-the-art building for GTBoard, the increase in annual tourist arrivals to over 200,000 before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the successful recovery of tourism post-pandemic.
Minister Bah emphasized the aggressive marketing strategies implemented to attract tourists and investors, as well as the training provided to staff across all institutions under MOTC. He also mentioned the development of new hotels, an increase in beds in the country, and the establishment of a research unit at GTHI focused on international recipes using local ingredients.
Under Minister Bah’s administration, the GTHI developed a curriculum in Agri-food processing, trained 200 youth in rural Gambia, and constructed an Agri-food processing center with support from GIZ. The achievements of the National Centre for Arts and Culture included strengthening the legal and administrative framework of the sector, ratifying two UNESCO Conventions, completing an inventory of heritage and monuments in Banjul, and digitizing the NCAC Research and Documentation Division Oral Archive.
During the event, directors of the various institutions also highlighted their achievements under Minister Bah’s leadership. The overall message conveyed was one of gratitude for his service and a warm welcome to the incoming Minister, Honourable Abdoulie Jobe.
In conclusion, the event served as a platform to reflect on the progress made in the tourism and culture sector under Minister Hamat NK Bah’s leadership and to showcase the accomplishments of the Ministry and its institutions. The transition to a new Minister marked a new chapter in the sector’s development, with a focus on building upon the foundation laid by Minister Bah and continuing to promote and enhance the tourism and cultural heritage of The Gambia.
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