He commented: “My lodge used to be a very busy one in the previous years but this year, it is just too bad. I think the Ebola outbreak has really affected the tourism sector this year and some of us come and sit here for the whole day only to end up getting just five guests. This is really strange because this is what we used to know. We have to be very busy at this lodge with a lot of guests coming. Expectations were that, for December, there will be flights coming to The Gambia but most of these flights come with very few tourists. I still can’t recall all my staff back to work due to the poor nature of the season.”
Mr Loosen said the prevailing concerns in the sector, particularly Ebola have occupied centre stage of public discourse in the last couple of months as the region looks at mechanisms for arresting the problem.
Lamin Lodge is a popular lodge operating in Lamin with a reputation for being one of the busiest centres for tourists. Last year, this reporter visited the lodge and spoke to the owner who was with the belief that things would have been better by the start of December. However, most hotels, lodges, restaurants are still complaining the lack of tourists this year even as we enter the mid-season.
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