Hostguest interactions

1
Host-guest interactions

• Omar Bojang (Sec Tourist Taxi Drivers Assoc)
• Lamin Gai (Vice President Beach Bar Assoc)
• Lucy Hamilton (MSc Student)

2
What do we mean by a host-guest interaction?

• Meeting of two cultures when tourists and host
  communities come together
  
• Different contexts/types of interaction
  (ve/-ve)
  
• Positive encounter is when tourists and local
  people come to know each others way of life with
  mutual respect and interest.

3
Where are we now?

• Little information available to tourists local
  people (in the right format) about each others
  culture
  
• Welcome meetings - suits TOs own business
  interests misinformation
  
• Barriers to local people to interact with
  tourists e.g. access, cultural
  
• Comparison tour operator excursions versus local
  tours e.g. bird guides
  
• No coordinated guidance or support available on
  how to best manage host-guest interactions
  
• Negatives encounters hassle/begging/bargaining

4
SWOT analysis of working to improve host-guest
interaction - Senegambia

• STRENGTHS
• Market - tourists want to have more interaction
  with local people
  
• Existing code of conduct, training, licensing and
  organisation of ASSET members
  
• WEAKNESSES
• Tour operators limit and control the content of
  information given to tourists about the existing
  small-scale enterprises
  
• Capacity issues of existing local enterprises to
  develop new products
  

5
SWOT continued

• OPPORTUNITIES
• Increasing support of tour operators for local
  enterprises
  
• Marketing host-guest interactions c/o World
  Responsible Tourism Day Gambia Tourism Week
  
• THREATS
• Problems associated with change of culture and
  unemployment of younger Gambian generation e.g.
  bad bumsters, begging etc
  
• Cooperation of tour operators

6
Where do we want to be?Our aims

• 1.Development of new local experience activities
  that encourage mutually beneficial host-guest
  interaction
  
• 2.Fair and high profile information to be
  provided to tourists in an imaginative way which
  helps generate business for local enterprises
  

7
How do we get there?

• Develop the following 3 local experience
  activities under the umbrella of a Host-Guest
  United project coordinated by Responsible Tourism
  Partnership
• 1. Football for All (tourists vs hotel
  workers)
  
• 2. Dying together (batik/tie dye)
• 3. Seed to Plate (womens garden)

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1. From seed to plate

• Garden/market/cooking/tasting
• Organised by Banjulinding womens garden
  association and GiG
  
• ASSET to provide women gardeners leading the
  activities with customer care and health
  hygiene training
  
• GiG and womens association plan the itinerary
• Max. group size of 5 tourists (bigger groups
  split)
  
• Cooking to be done at GiG farm (already covered
  re hygienic regulations)

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2. Football for all

• Football matches and supporters fun between
  tourists and hotel staff once per week
  
• RTP to negotiate with Hotel Association, GNOC and
  First Choice to support the football matches
  
• Matches to be organised by hotel animation teams
• T-shirt inc in ticket price (marketing,
  practical)
  
• Equipment needed i.e. footballs, hotel staff
  jerseys, tourist T-shirts
  

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3. Dying together!

• Tourists learn batik and make their own material
  with women in a local compound
  
• RTP to negotiate with First Choice
• To be organised by the womens batik, tie dye
  association linked to ASSET
  
• Max. group size 5 for a 3 hour activity
• ASSET product development committee womens
  association plan the itinerary
  

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4. Coordination of Hosts-Guests United

• Responsible Tourism Partnership
• Look for funding develop Hosts-Guest United
  project
  
• Negotiate with First Choice to support a pilot
  initiative (NB business case for repeat visits
  moral obligation)
  
• Appoint a part-time coordinator to set up the
  project (2 years)
  
• Marketing
• Marketing/advertising - First Choice, ASSET
  members and GTA
  
• Booking and sale of activities in hotels - First
  Choice Timbooktoo
  
• Transportation
• Transportation - ground handlers (hotels)
  tourists taxis (independent travellers)
  

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WHERE?

• Football for All Spy bar football ground (GNOC
  ASSET) and beach
  
• Seed to Plate Bakau market, Banjulinding
  gardens, GiG
  
• Dying Together tie, dye batik association
  compound (Dippa kunda)
  

13
Costings Pricing
14
WHEN?

• Pilot by the end of this tourist season
• Launch November 2007...the clock is ticking!