Sustainable tourism development: the glorious reality

Jo (far right) and co in the Gambia – Senegambia green team

Bulletin number 1: Jo Baddeley of Thomas Cook reports from the Gambia with the highs and the lows in a series of weekly reports.

Jo Baddeley, Thomas Cook’s Sustainable Destination Manager, gives a candid view… of how it works in a destination – tourists and all!

Notes from the field no 1

As I write, the electricity has just gone off in the office, luckily the battery on the laptop is full, but I'll have to wait for the connection to get back on the VPN wireless so that I can actually send this!

My suitcases were literally the last 2 off the plane, I started to think I was going to have to go shopping and get myself some Gambian outfits earlier than expected, but all was OK, I was the absolute last person to leave the airport which has never happened to me before.  Luckily, the veggie sausages and bacon made it through the suitcase scanner and I got to the apartment fine.

My neighbours across the pool are 2 very foolish UK men, in their 60's…one has just married a Liberian woman he's known for 5 days, his friend is getting married to another one on Monday….then they think they can go to the authorities and get a licence to bring them back to the UK just like that.  I think telling the Liberian women that he owned 9 farms in the UK and that he was quite wealthy was a criticial part of the girls' decision to marry the old boys!  I think we should definitely consider weddings in our New Product!! (just joking)

I got my car yesterday, it's a huge Nissan Terreno with a 'secret starting ignition'….I think this is polite speak for it being a bit buggered and not working properly.  It took me 7 goes to work out how to do it but I now have it off to a fine art and have even managed to manoevre it out of the patio and into the road today without taking off the broken wing mirror or knocking over any children or dogs that are loitering in the road.  Thank heavens for weight watchers and tunisian tummy as the seat belt is so frayed it doesn't stretch properly, it gets to a certain point and then it won't through the hole, luckily I can actually fasten it, a great incentive to not putting on any weight while I'm here!

The presidential elections took place yesterday so there wasn't a soul around for most of the day and today is a bank holiday, not conducive to arranging a full itinerary for the TV crew, I'm sure there'll be more changes afoot and it pays not to get too excited about having the FINAL arrangements in place as they seldom remain final for long!
 
So, the electricity is back on and I think I'm going to catch the Gambia Tours people before they head off for the public holiday.  Am quite looking forward to a relaxing weekend in the sunshine and will then be ready for the film week next week.

Next bulletin next week…

Says Jo:
As part of my six week stint in the Gambia this winter I've been working together with The Travel Foundation, Sandele Eco-Lodge and Rupert & Lynne (our craft experts) to promote a brand of jewellery, crafts and textiles that will be recognised by customers for its committment to natural products and to a fair working ethic for the producers involved. 

During the last 12 months everyone has been working very hard here in the destination to develop new innovative designs and products that will meet all customer's needs and pockets.  The 8th December was agreed as the launch date of the 'Guaranteed Gambian' products and we were generously offered promotional space at the beautiful Gaya Art Cafe.  A range of buyers and other interested parties were invited to the event, resulting in some fabulous feedback and interest for orders.  Following the launch, myself and Rupert met with Anna from Top Shop who has shops at three popular hotels, she has become our first Guaranteed Gambian customer and is placing orders for all of our items within the catalogue.

I also met with the Sales and Marketing manager for the Sheraton Hotel, she is looking for corporate gifts and is interested in seeing the Guaranteed Gambian catalogue that Rupert is currently putting together.  She attends trade fairs 6 times per year and if she was to become a customer this would have a huge positive impact on combatting the seasonality issue.

For many of the producers of our crafts, this is going to be the first time that they've ever had any kind of real employment and opportunity to make a decent living from tourism. 

The respect that will come from having this opportunity is something that I can't even put a value on for them…instead of bumstering their wares on the streets they now have 3 confirmed outlets for their work.  With next year's work focussing on marketing and building brand awareness of Guaranteed Gambian I know that the producers will really feel very proud to be part of it and to say that their work is sold under this label. 

It guarantees a fair wage for their products and the time that they have put into making them.  The story boards of the producers will help to tell the story to the customer and bring life to the brand as well as awareness raising of sustainability as a whole.  We'll be able to fully report on stats this time next year to demonstrate the difference this has made to the income of the producers.

I remember when I met a marabou (fortune teller) here the first time I came to do H&S 5 years ago, he told me that I would always come back to the Gambia and that I would bring wealth to people of the destination, I never believed a word of it, as far as I was concerned I was doing a one off trip there and never knew that I'd even come back.  As soon as we got the Top Shop agreement it struck me that this could be exactly what he was referring to all that time ago!  Scary that someone can know these things so far ahead of time

Of everything that I've done so far in this job, this is probably the highlight and the most amazing achievement yet.  There's a lot of special people working on this project here and it's such priviledge to be part of it.  I just wanted to share the good news!

Jo Baddeley is the Sustainable Destinations Manager at Thomas Cook UK and Ireland and has been in the role for almost four years.  She recently graduated from Leeds University with a Masters Degree in Responsible Tourism and was highly commended for her personal contribution to sustainability at World Travel Market in 2010. 

Jo is passionate about bringing sustainability to life in destinations for customers, suppliers, local people and Thomas Cook's own employees.  Making it part of an improved customer experience is the best way to get people involved.  Some of Jo's favourite overseas initiatives have come about as a response to the Travel Foundation's 'Make Holidays Greener' week and include ongoing children's activities and promotion of new local products and events. 

The opportunity to travel, to spend time with people and to develop an understanding of the flavour of different destinations are the highlights of the job.  Jo hopes to continue to encourage more and more people to become involved with sustainability and to enjoy the many benefits it brings.

 Get your copy of the Sustainable Tourism Report at a special offer price: HERE

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