Hustlers and Bumpsters

Due to the sky high unemployment rate in The Gambia many Gambians have a difficult time trying to make ends meet. Tourism is one of the most important sources of income of this Third World country. Therefor a lot of people will pose as fake guides to obtain some cash. So far so good and all very understandable however many of these so called “guides” have little to no experience in guiding tourists and their main objective is to separate tourists from as much money as possible. Your pleasure and safety will certainly not be high ranking on their list of priorities! This can cause very unpleasant situations for unsuspecting tourists.

Undoubtedly you will be approached in the Senegambia (tourist) area by these hustlers and bumpsters often in a very annoying manner.

Getting angry and spoiling your own mood would be a sure waste of your holiday. Instead a confident attitude and repeatedly saying a sturdy NO could prove a good way to get rid of them. But actually the only effective way of evading them is to hire a trustworthy local guide as they then will consider the tourist as “occupied”.

If possible, stay friendly and try to see the humour of things
Pretend to not understand them and keep on walking
Never tell the name of your hotel or give out your (sir)name or roomnumber. Just make up another hotel or name.
It is not very handy to say that it is your first visit to The Gambia as by doing so you target yourself as a gullible tourist. Just say you’ve been coming to The Gambia for years and that you’re certainly not a rookie.
Never just go with people you don’t know, however pitiful and convincing their story is. If you are invited for example to attend a Name Giving Ceremony (Baby Shower Party) or visit a Compound (home) and you really would like to go, just ask your guide from Boy Leigh.com to come with you.
Of course all help and charity is more than welcome in The Gambia but make sure your help ends up in the right hands.