Surf tourism in West Africa: a Working Model for Responsible Tourism.

Sun, sea, waves, tanned bodies and relaxed attitudes are all part of the surfing lifestyle, but it has also come to my attention that tourism can be a part of the ‘gnarly’ world of riding waves.

Whilst researching alternative tourism activities in West Africa, I came across a great number of surf shops, surf camps and surf tours along the coastal areas in countries such as Senegal, Liberia and Ghana. These are little known projects, and not only take the tourist to some beautiful beaches, but also have a low environmental impact and provide economic and development opportunities to the local communities through empowerment initiatives.

I became interested in how the surf tourism model could be considered as an alternative, unique and fulfilling experience for those seeking to discover the local heritage of a destination whilst being sure that the local communities will benefit directly from their presence on the ground.

Let me set the scene:

“After first impressions, the destinations look like paradise on earth. White pristine beaches bordered by palm trees, rolling green hills dominated by lush untouched rainforest, the silence only disturbed by the birds calling after one-another and the sound of the waves lapping against the shore, not to forget the sea at a constant warm temperature. As you look deeper into the local area, you will find friendly local communities, usually fishermen, who work hard to survive in the poverty stricken rural areas, children playing football on the beach who invite you to kick the ball about, a family having lunch outside on the porch who motion for you to come and taste a local dish, and everyone with smiling faces, showing that you don’t need much to be happy. You feel a sense of being part of the bigger picture, a sense of freedom, devoid of materialism and barriers, a feeling of, at last, finding the true sense of the word ‘living’.

Going back to your accommodation near the local surf shop, you hear the crash of the waves and feel an overwhelming need to be on a board, waiting for the swell so that you can get up and slide down the wall of water, trying to keep your balance but falling into the clear blue, warm water. You emerge into a soft breeze, dust yourself off and try again until you get it just right.”

Jesper, owner of a surf camp in Senegal adds to this: “Surfing in west Africa is something special. The sport has exploded the last 10 years, and therefore everyone is surfing. That brings many problems to all the famous surf spots around the world. In surfing jargon it's called localism. The people that live at the surf spot do not like that the tourists come and surf at "their spot". This leads to fights, negative atmosphere in the water and so on.”

He continues: “Senegal is very different, the locals are very happy for tourists to come. They welcome people in the water, talk and guide them. You will not see this in many places on the planet. Senegal doesn't have many ‘surf tourists’, and surfers who come to Senegal usually donate boards, wet suits, clothes and more. So it’s something special to surf here. This is one of the main reasons I moved here.”

Tempting hey? Well, not only are there opportunities to experience the above fantasy first-hand, but also you will be making a contribution to the sustainable development of the local community in the destination.

The surf shops in West Africa strive to train members of the local community to become surf instructors, therefore empowering them to earn a living for themselves and their family. Surf tourism usually being small-scale projects bring small groups of tourists to the area thus reducing the possible negative effects of tourism and nurtures the rise of local entrepreneurship to cater for the arriving guests. This, subsequently, boosts the local economy. Furthermore, all the produce used to cater for the guests are locally sourced, as well as the labourers who maintain the premises.

Jesper explains: “surf tourism provides many jobs for the locals. I employ six locals at the camp plus two more in the busy season. There is also more business for everyone living around the surf project. I think that is the main reason for the good atmosphere here.”

In terms of raising awareness towards the local heritage, it is needless to say that through involving the local community in the tourism project, the guest will experience the cultural aspect of the locality, by walking around the area and not being afraid to start chatting to an elder, the historical setting of the area will come into focus, and activities such as cycling, hiking or canoeing to areas where natural heritage is present will be a learning experience for anyone not used to these settings.

Most importantly, as a result of the increased interest to the local heritage, the local community will surely be inspired to protect it, not only because of a renewed sense of pride towards what they have always considered as ‘normal’ but also because of the economic opportunities that can be felt by conserving it and not destroying it.

Peter, founder of a surf shop in Ghana gives his opinion: "I feel that the development in of surfing in West Africa provides a somewhat unique opportunity to put forth a surfing development model that is truly responsible and built by locals. In the past, and in many places around the world, the surf infrastructure has followed a development model that is exploitative, although this exploitation is usually not intentional and there are good people involved. What has happened around the world is that foreigners stumble across a place in a developing country that eventually becomes a surf destination and by the time the locals have any idea about surfing or realize its potential as a business it is too late for them to get into the game. This results in a bunch of foreign owned surf businesses with very few opportunities for local ownership or locals people securing high end, well paying surfing related jobs. There is an opportunity to develop the countries of West Africa into surf destinations (the waves are there!) with an idea of local ownership or at least local/foreign collaborations in mind. This would provide a new, responsible way of doing things that respects the idea that local people have first rights to benefit from their local resources, which in this case are their beaches and some killer surf spots."

He continues objectively: "Training locals to compete with foreigners in the surfing business (surf shops, surf tours, surf camps and lessons) is a daunting task as cultural differences on how we communicate loom large. Lots of training is required for locals to understand what comes naturally to foreigners with regards to knowing what a surf tourist expects and wants and how to meet those needs."

Surf tourism, if managed properly of course, could be used as a working model to show how tourism can be used as a tool to alleviate poverty in local communities in destinations by boosting local economies, providing entrepreneurship opportunities, empowering members of the community and sourcing products and labour locally. It can be a means to raise awareness towards wealth of local cultural, historical and natural heritage not only to the visitor, but also to the local communities.

Why not see for yourselves how surf camps are set up, by checking out this example in Ghana.

Or if you desire to learn more about other projects out there, email us at info@westafricadiscovery.co.uk.

Sports Tourism Big in Africa this Summer

It is set to be a year of massive sporting events, 2010 kicked off with the Winter Olympics in Whistler, and the whole world is anticipating the FIFA World Cup in South Africa this summer. There are many economic and social benefits to hosting international events. Whistler attracted 250,000 visitors to the area and $10 billion in revenues. Along with the financial injection, a host city will see development to infrastructure, increased jobs, and a continued development model of growth even after the event has been and gone.

The World Cup Finals in South Africa this June are on an even bigger scale and could contribute 50 billion rand to the economy, while tourism could generate a further 15 billion rand, with 3.5 million fans expected to attend the tournament. Not only will this be a great boost to the continued development of South Africa but surely for the continent as a whole.

Going to South Africa to watch your team play this summer is no cheap holiday. Once you have bought your flight, paid for a hotel and calculated spending money, the costs can run into the thousands. For those who want to see the Finals in Africa this summer there is another region that is equally amazing, but tourism there is less often on the media map. On the westernmost region of the African continent, West Africa is on the flight route from Europe and America to Cape Town and will be a great destination to visit during the World Cup.

The concept of sports tourism in West Africa is nowhere near the same level as South Africa, but that could be changing with the opening of new facilities such as the Right to Dream academy in Ghana.

Football is the biggest sport in West Africa. Watched and followed everywhere, kids and adults alike pretend to be in their role-models shoes by playing the ‘perfect game’ in every condition, sometimes only with a ball made from rags. Famous footballers such as Didier Drogba and Craig Bellamy are using football as a tool for community development and education through the setting up football and education centres for children in West Africa. It would be great to start channelling more money from sports tourism into communities in countries such as Côte d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone where it is needed most.

In June, West Africa will be alive with passion as their football heroes battle it out on the global stage. Bars and hotels across West Africa will be showing the games, and the local people will be more than happy to welcome and share a drink with a football fan. As well as going for the African football vibe, a holiday here is sure to give an experience of Africa quite different from the roaring stadiums and hustle bustle of crowds in the South African capital. There are four West African teams in the World Cup finals this year; Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria. These are four very different West African countries with equally amazing possibilities for rich fulfilling natural and cultural holidays.

Cameroon, for example, is home of Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o. Also dubbed 'Africa in miniature' due to the diversity of its terrain, biodiversity and cultures, Cameroon is one of the most exciting and unexplored countries in West Africa. From lush rainforest hiding waterfalls to pristine beaches, this country has a wealth of resources which can provide tourists with the most unique and unforgettable experiences. Click here for some ideas about holidays in Cameroon.

Another football role-model, Chelsea star Michael Essien, hails from Ghana, the country whose name means ‘Warrior King’. Often considered as the friendliest country in West Africa, this country was the seat of the Royal Court of the once powerful Ashanti Empire, whose vestiges are still visible today in the Ghanaian culture. Festivals, ceremonies and social values are a testimony to the prosperous past of this amazing country. Click here to discover the opportunities for travellers seeking adventure and exploration.

For anyone looking for a different and unique experience of watching the World Cup this summer, West Africa is well worth checking out. It is a culturally rich and diverse region, full of surprises and life changing experiences. There are a wide selection of tour operators whose holidays respect the environment and support the economies of local communities. By choosing responsible tours travellers can discover the beauty of West Africa safe in the knowledge that their trip is making a difference and that money from tourism is going to communities that will really benefit from it.

The World Cup effect: West African role models, Charity and Sports Tourism

West Africa in the World Cup

The 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa next year will give African football teams a great opportunity to shine on the global stage (an estimated 715.1 million people watched the 2006 final). West Africa Discovery greeted news of Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria’s qualifications with big smiles. After some friendly banter amongst the team about who we would be supporting next summer, we setup a poll to ask which team has the best chance of succeeding. My personal vote went to the Nigeria Super Eagles; it is always nice to see the underdogs succeed! The fact that half of the African teams that have qualified are West African goes to show the region’s dominance of African football.

On Friday afternoon I logged straight onto the sports news to check out the draw for the group stages. Obviously I was excited about England’s draw, but also wanted to check out who our West African teams had got. The draw for the group stages could prove to be challenging for the West African teams with Côte d'Ivoire drawing previous world cup winners, Brazil and Portugal, and the less formidable North Korea. Ghana was the only qualifying team to progress past the group stage in Germany 2006. They also have a tough draw facing Germany, Serbia and Australia. Nigeria who only just about qualified, face Argentina, Greece and South Korea. No easy draw for all teams concerned, but with a little luck who knows what could happen.

Of the six African teams, Cote d'Ivoire, with their world class striker Didier Drogba are the favourites for the competition. Didier Drogba plays for Chelsea in the English Premier League and has arguably the highest global profile amongst African players. Anyone who has watched Drogba in action will know that Côte d'Ivoire will be reliant on his strength and pace to get them through to the knockout stages.

Football and Charity

In the United Kingdom Drogba has a reputation of two halves. On one hand he is viewed as a talented player and goal scorer, but on the other he is can be viewed rather more negatively for being light footed and diving too often. Regardless of this, something that is less widely spoken about in the UK is his charity work and role model status for his native country. In 2007 he was appointed ‘Goodwill Ambassador’ by the United Nations Development Programme.

Drogba recently signed a new advertising deal with Pepsi worth £3million. He has pledged the entire amount to setting up a hospital and orphanage in Côte d'Ivoire that hopes to be up and running by the end of 2010. The hospital is part of the Didier Drogba Foundation - set up by the 31 year-old last year - and as well as being able to accommodate upwards of 200 patients the centre will be an orphanage. Unsurprisingly, this has had great support throughout the football and international community. Gestures and actions like these show the positive effect that football and sport in general can have on the communities that most need this investment.

Another footballer working towards helping West Africa is Welsh star Craig Bellamy. Craig Bellamy is infamous in the English Premier League for falling out with referees, managers and teammates, and is generally portrayed in a negative light in the UK media. However, despite his short temper and moments of misjudgement, he has invested time and money to help support West African communities. After visiting Sierra Leone in 2007 he has since setup the Craig Bellamy Foundation. The foundation runs a successful academy that not only teaches sport but seeks to give an education to disadvantaged children in Sierra Leone.

Craig Bellamy’s work sits alongside other schemes such as the Right to Dream academy in Ghana and supports the Score4Africa Living Football scheme which aims to use football to build community centres.

The international sports industry is worth billions of pounds, and by combining with foundations and charities, its key stars are taking the right steps in funnelling some of the funds into development amongst African communities. Let’s hope West Africa continues to produce stars like Drogba who, despite living the high life in European teams, continue to give back to the communities that nurtured their talents.

The World Cup and Sports Tourism

The World Cup in South Africa also looks likely to continue the growing development of sports tourism. Nigeria and the United States have a collaboration that should enable more American tourists to visit Nigeria to watch, and participate in traditional and contemporary sports, and related tourism activities in Nigeria. After hearing about Nigerian sports development I investigated further and read an article in TourismROI. The article describes the construction of impressive sounding luxurious resorts that cater for sports enthusiasts and by the sounds of things will provide jobs and stimulate economic opportunities in the area. However, will constructions on such a major scale take into consideration the environmental surroundings of the resort?

I think the best method for ‘sports tourism’ that will have a direct impact on the community is through grassroots volunteer schemes. There are more and more possibilities for sports ‘voluntourism’ that can help local communities to learn new skills. Projects such as Real Gap allow volunteers to travel to Ghana and help the local community by being a coach and mentor to local kids. If these projects take into consideration the criteria outlined in the Cape Town, Kerala and Belize declarations on Responsible Tourism; then not only will the communities benefit, but also the natural, cultural, social and historical heritages will be respected.

Just as in the UK, the African nation loves football. Hosting the World Cup for the first time can only help to develop community schemes and help the football industry. In 2010 the African nation will be dreaming of their stars holding the cup aloft. Just imagine the size of the party if an African team were to be victorious, an event that would unite the hopes and dreams of an entire continent. With these dreams, we must continue to use sport as a means to secure a better tomorrow for Africa.

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Contact me at harry@westafricadiscovery.co.uk