From Our MD
Keep up to date with all the latest information from Chris Rowles our Managing Director at The Gambia Experience.
Chris Rowles - Managing Director
The holiday season is upon us!
Posted on Nov 16, 2011 by Chris Rowles
One of the first things I noticed on my recent trip to The Gambia was the newly-air conditioned arrivals area of the airport at Banjul. As anyone who has been to The Gambia will remember, standing in the line for immigration and baggage reclaim after the long flight, and usually having come from some fairly cold weather at home, can be quite a sweaty experience. It’s not perfect but it was certainly a good deal cooler.
Arriving in the resort area, I was struck not just by the beautiful weather but also by how bright everything looked – the hotels, especially, looked very alluring; and on visiting them it was great to see how ready and prepared everyone was for the coming season. We’re very pleased for the first time to be offering the Omakan Hotel and it was great to meet our first customers here – we’re sure this is going to be a very popular hotel going forward as it manages to provide something new and luxurious while remaining quintessentially Gambian.
Another new property for us, Sitanunku Lodge, is really starting to come into its own, as well. This collection of lodges on the banks of the river Gambia is set in a truly beautiful location, the first on the north bank of the river, and the gardens here, now lush and bountiful, are really a sight to behold. Sitting with a cool drink in the restaurant at Sitanunku watching the sun set across the water was a real highlight of the trip.
New Program Launch for 2011-12
Posted on July 26, 2011 by Chris Rowles
On one of my recent trips to The Gambia I decided to follow the growing trend for multi-centre holidays (it's so easy to do in a small country) and stayed in four different hotels. This has encouraged me to find some more quality lodges and individual properties to twin with a beach hotel - although they can also be enjoyed for a longer stay - which you'll find in our exciting, new Unique Collection. I also talked to as many customers as possible. It was fantastic to hear comments such as "our rule is we never go back to the same destination twice - but this is our third visit'' and "we were looking at the Caribbean, but are so glad we came here" and "we had no idea that The Gambia had so much to offer".
Flying continues to be a challenge. Unfortunately we have not yet been able to find an aircraft to operate our Bristol flights and the ever-increasing cost of fuel and government taxes means that all flights are costing more, however we are still able to offer our popular Premium Class service from Gatwick for the same supplement, and twice weekly for much of the winter.
Whilst some tour operators try to disguise price increases by removing meals and baggage allowance, I believe these should be included. Similarly, the Airport Development Fee of €20 is now included in our holiday price so that unnecessary queues at the airport on departure are avoided.
Whether you are returning with us again and requesting the same room in the same hotel, seeking a new experience in a different property, or considering The Gambia and Senegal for the first time, we hope that you will enjoy reading our brochure and please visit our website for more photos, video clips and reviews. Even better, talk to our staff, all of whom know The Gambia and Senegal inside out.
Flights to The Gambia
Posted on April 22, 2011 by Chris Rowles
We are delighted to announce that we will be working with Monarch Airlines for our summer 2011 programme. This summer we will be offering flights from London Gatwick to Banjul on a Tuesday with the service commencing on the 3rd May. Unfortunately we are unable to operate a twice weekly service this summer, in large part due to a reduction in suitable aircraft availability (two of our major suppliers of charter aircraft have ceased trading in the past 12 months).
We continually review our flight and holiday pricing and endeavour to deliver fair prices for our products. Over the past two years the cost of fuel has more than doubled, coupled with continued increases in government taxes, now costing almost £100 per seat (plus an average of £80 extra for Banjul originating clients). As a business we have a duty to cover our operating overheads such as staff salaries, office costs, advertising and of course the cost of the flight/taxes/fuel/hotel etc. Our single aircraft operation this summer also means that, under CAA regulations, aircrew now have to spend a whole week being paid & accommodated to operate our single flight. These factors combined mean that ticket prices have had to increase, as it is impossible for us to absorb all these cost increases.
The summer period in The Gambia is not a period of high demand for holidays and other UK tour operators drop The Gambia in the summer as they do not see it as a viable (profitable) destination, preferring instead to make money in the Med. Across the travel industry as a whole there is much higher demand to charter aircraft in the summer than there is in the winter months. Inevitably the laws of "supply and demand" come into play and the airlines will charge Tour Operators a higher price in summer than for winter. From our perspective we would welcome other UK operators in the summer months as it would raise awareness of how great The Gambia is in the “green season".
