Seek Your Toyboys Elsewhere – The Gambia Tells British And European Grandmothers Looking For Tourism S*x

On a street packed full of restaurants and bars, a Gambian beach boy helps an older British lady hobble out of a noisy nightclub. The couple hold hands and share a brief kiss before the woman settles the tab and they disappear into the night.

It is a common scene in The Gambia, a tiny West African country with a reputation as a sex haven for British grannies. The “Senegambia strip” near the capital city of Banjul looks like Africa’s Benidorm for pensioners, with old men and ladies dipping in and out of bars playing English music.

But local officials say the country now wants to change its international reputation and attract different types of visitors.

“What we want is quality tourists,” said Abubacarr S. Camara, director of the Gambia Tourism Board. “Tourists that come to enjoy the country and the culture, but not tourists that come just for sex.”

Sex tourism exploded in The Gambia after Thomas Cook launched budget package tours, including cheap flights, to the former British colony in the 1990s.

The company went bust in 2019 and this drastically reduced the number of British visitors – but sex tourism continued. Covid-19 has made the situation worse, with even fewer tourists visiting for normal holidays.

As the government seeks to rebrand its image, Mr Camara said it is targeting higher-end tourists and millennials – to move beyond older Brits, typically from working class backgrounds.

A delegation of tourist officials visited the UK in June to speak with British Airways and TUI to boost flights from London to Banjul.

‘People are poor, they have no choice’

Expats who live in The Gambia are also keen to move the country’s image away from prostitution.

Annette Griffin said that she has built a family-friendly pub called The Churchill to encourage more families to visit the country. The 65-year-old from Manchester said that The Gambia’s image as a haven for older women looking for a holiday toy boy has stopped families from coming.

“Most of the tourists that come here, come for sex tourism,” she said. “But apart from the seedy side of it, there is a nice side to The Gambia. I came here nine years ago on holiday and have stayed ever since.”

Most of the Gambian men who hook up with old ladies are motivated by the lack of jobs and low wages in the poor country. They can earn a monthly salary of around £200 in only a few days.

Known as “bumsters”, they scour white sand beaches looking for older women who also come from Holland, Sweden and Germany to meet the young men.

Kausu Samateh, a tourist guide who runs Kausu Tours, said that poverty is driving more and more young men and women into prostitution.

“People are poor here, so they have no choice,” he said. “They think it is better to go to Europe where they will have a better life. They hope that the old ladies will take them.”

Government seeks financial assistance

Many Gambians blame the government for failing to develop the economy. Up until 2017, the tiny country of only around 2.5 million people was ruled by a ruthless dictator called Yahya Jammeh who is himself accused of widespread sexual abuse.

Mr Camara, from the tourism board, said that the new administration has taken a more proactive approach to cracking down on sex tourism. The government is considering introducing laws to make it easier for police to arrest bumsters and old ladies in suspected relationships.

Lamin Fatty, national coordinator at the Child Protection Alliance, said that the UK Government could also do more to stop its nationals from exploiting young Gambian boys.

“The High Commission has shown some engagement,” he said. “But it’s not only about engagement, we also need financial and technical assistance. There could be much better collaboration between both countries to put solutions in place.”

Photo Credit: Getty