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Gambia: Profile of An Industrious Stakeholder in Tourism
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The Daily Observer (Banjul)
7 May 2008
Posted to the web 7 May 2008
Lamin M Dibba
For a closer look at the Tourism Development Area, one would easily notice a transformation of infrastructural development such as additional hotels, bar and restaurants, traffic lights, good road network. Of course the security and the hospitality of Gambians which is second to none.
The government has given a face lift to the Tourism Development Area and stakeholders in the industry have significantly contributed to making The Gambia a hospitable tourist destination that earned us the name the Smiling Coast of Africa.
In this edition of Tourisphere, we profile a young Gambian who began his journey in the tourism sector as a waiter at the Cape Point Hotel and now a successful businessman and investor in the tourism industry.
Mr Bassiru Bojang commonly called Bass is the proprietor of Mr Bass Bendula Bar and Restaurant opposite Cape Point Hotel. He began his journey of no return in the industry in 1984, upon completing his secondary education.
Bass was employed as a waiter by his brother Ebrima Bojang, proprietor of Cape Point Hotel where he spent 10 years before traveling to Sweden on holiday. Upon returned, he opened a small scale enterprise on the beaches of Kairaba, BB Hotel and Sunwing renting bicycles to holiday makers.
Dynamic and focus oriented Bass felt the need to open a bar and restaurant in Cape Point, at a time when there were only one restaurant in the area. In 2001, his dreams for a bigger investment was achieved which is today the popular Bendula Bar and Restaurant.
This eatery is strategically located flanked in both sides of Sunbeach Hotel and Resort and the magnificent edifice Ocean Bay Hotel; its front view stood the Cape Point Hotel. It consists of a mini conference centre, a mosque, public toilets, and dustbins to keep the area clean and green.
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This, according to Bass, is his gift to the community. With these major hotels in the area, Bendula attracts more guests on a daily basis in comparison to other fast food within the same area. A good number of guests dine out there even at the off season and the figure rises in the height of the peak period of the tourist season. Apart from the delicious dinner, there is a live band performance by the Holy Family to entertain guests at Bendula making it unique among others in the area.
Mr Bass, who many regarded as a role model in tourism is also a champion of youth empowerment. He had in the past contributed to uplifting the status of most bumsters, a phenomenon in which government is trying to crack down. At the garden of his restaurant is a relaxation point for bumsters but a big notice is inscribed around the place which reads "Hassle Free."
Fluent in three international languages English, Swedish and Norwegian, Bass revealed that his next investment is to open a hotel as soon as possible. He is the adopted father of Sunwing Craft Market in Cape Point vendors.
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