Third International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies

Abstract

This workshop will feature the screening of “Welcome to the Smiling Coast”, a feature-length documentary that offers a rare insight into the lives of fifteen youngsters moving within the bounds of the informal sector of the Gambian tourism industry. Although the smallest country on mainland Africa, Gambia has become a popular tourist destination due to its warm climate, abundant wildlife, and cheap intimacy. Each year over 150,000 tourists, predominantly older European women, visit the Smiling Coast of West Africa in search of this exotic blend of sun, safari, and sex. Most tourists are staying within the comforts of all-inclusive resorts, far removed from the everyday experience of ordinary Gambians. In fact, with a third of its population living below the poverty line, Gambia is at present, fifty years after its independence, one of Africa’s poorest nations. Ironically, many poor Gambians, particularly youngsters, are residing only a few steps away from the tourist hotels and beaches. Here they are trying to survive in the margins of the omnipresent leisure industry. With this lure of a better future just around the corner, the dangerous “back way” across deserts and high seas to Europe, is always lingering in their minds. Do they eventually try their luck abroad or find their peace at home? “Welcome to the Smiling Coast” shows the varied and often creative alternative strategies Gambian youngsters employ to secure their livelihood. Capturing their struggles, hopes and dreams, this documentary puts a human and positive face on the informal economy that lies behind the glitter of the Smiling Coast. Emiel Martens, Assistant Professor in Film and Visual Culture at the University of Amsterdam, is the story editor and producer of the film. At the workshop, he will introduce the film and will do a Q&A after the screening.