Unrest in the Gambia Prompts Tourist Evacuation


Skift Take

Negative headlines are likely to put anyone off wanting to travel to the Gambia at least in the short term. How long this lasts depends entirely on when the political crisis in the country is resolved.
Thousands of tourists are being evacuated from the west African country of the Gambia amid concerns over political unrest. Tour operator Thomas Cook is implementing “contingency plans to bring all our UK customers home as soon as possible.” The company currently has 985 customers on holiday in the country and is aware of an additional 2,500 people who traveled on one of its flights. “We are dispatching a special assistance team with our first flight from the UK to provide additional support at Banjul airport for our customers. Our colleagues on the ground in [the] Gambia will proactively contact all customers on holiday with us as soon as possible to prepare for return to the UK,” the company said in a statement. A spokesperson for TUI Group said that it was a destination offered mainly to its Dutch and Belgian customers an