By Mustapha Jallow
At least one hundred and fifty-four Institute of Travel & Tourism of the Gambia students were awarded prizes and certificates during the graduation ceremony.
Held at the Kairaba Jawara International Conference, the event aims to provide a thriving learning environment that is inclusive and practical, meets the local tourism industry’s specific needs, and increases its students’ skills and employability. It is also meant to ensure that the college is managed sustainably. Further aims to run other professional in-service courses for the tourism industry.
The organizers viewed the 16th graduation ceremony as one of the biggest in the institution’s history. One hundred fifty-four students in various fields of cooking and pastry course, international diploma in travel & tourism level, advance did in trace and tourism, cabin crew & airport operations, Amadeus booking system and performing arts.
Delivering his opening speech, Tejan Nyang, the head of ITTOG, said: “Our 16th year’s journey has not been an easy road, but we thank Allah that we have partners who have trust in us to give us the needed support to give back to our youths in dear need of knowledge, skills, and experience.”
According to Nyang, the “tourism recovery process in the Gambia has been slow to overcome the challenges of COVID-19 and other factors. It has deterred the progress of our industry. However, we are informed this year is promising in terms of the numbers,” he added.
Nyang said, “Our country needs quality beds and highly trained staff, which has been absent since COVID, mainly due to qualified Gambians leaving the country for greener pastors.” Therefore, he told the graduating students that their immediate challenge is thinking of how they intend to improve the industry.
Dr Adama Bah, the Chairman of the Board of Directors for ITTOG, reminded the students that they cannot be what they are without the effort of the people and their nation. He also asked those {students} to develop themselves, but they should not be selfish. “We live in a society where values of helping each other are still alive. However, we are reminded to not take this for granted,” he said.
Dr. Bah added, “What we want and who we want to make us who we are, and our knowledge of selfishness and service should always be used to unlock the potential for us to grow as a people and a nation.”
