TUI Colourful Cultures Gambia

The rich cultural heritage of The Gambia presents unique opportunities for tourism development. Tourism contributes significantly to the economy, with potential to extend these benefits to rural communities along the River Gambia an area which boasts extraordinary cultural wealth. The river region is home to the fascinating Ninki Nanka folklore stories about a mystical dragon said to inhabit the river's creeks. As storytelling traditions evolve, there is growing interest in using these cultural assets for tourism development by documenting the stories to create sustainable economic opportunities.

TUI Colourful Cultures Gambia addresses this opportunity by establishing a storytelling, creatives and crafts incubator in the town of Kotu, which is located on Gambia’s western coastline in an area designated by the government as a Tourist Development Area. The western coastline also includes the brackish water environments that extend about 200 km inland along the Gambia River. The initiative benefits rural communities on the Ninki Nanka Trail, a cultural tourism route that runs along the Gambia River.

The project works with local cultural groups, women's organisations, artists and artisans to develop new handicrafts, cultural products and branded merchandise that authentically represent the Ninki Nanka heritage. It supports folklore stories documenting and enhances storytelling skills to improve guiding along the trail, creating engaging experiences for visitors whilst also supporting a multi-purpose Ninki Nanka Incubation Space. The Gambia's rich cultural heritage forms the foundation for this initiative, which seeks to generate lasting economic benefits in rural communities and empower local people to share their traditions authentically.

The Gambia has identified tourism as a key economic development sector, with the National Development Plan emphasising diversification beyond coastal tourism toward inclusive, culture-centred experiences. This recognises the untapped potential of cultural assets along the River Gambia to create economic opportunities whilst also preserving heritage. Tourism contributes around 15% to Gambia’s GDP, yet its benefits remain concentrated in coastal ‘sun, sea and sand’ regions. Rural river communities possess rich cultural traditions, especially around the Ninki Nanka folklore, that could form compelling tourism experiences whilst generating sustainable livelihoods.

The Ninki Nanka is a mystical dragon which is said to inhabit the river's creeks. It features in diverse stories across communities, with interpretations ranging from benevolent to dangerous. These stories connect to music, traditions and visual representations, and form part of The Gambia's intangible cultural heritage. As modern influences reshape community life, traditional storytelling practices are evolving, creating an opportunity to document these expressions whilst ensuring their continued relevance.

Despite this prospect, tourism communities and entrepreneurs in the crafts and creatives sector often lack the skills, capacity, market access and understanding, product development experience and organisational structures to design and develop cultural products for tourist markets. As a result, they miss out on opportunities to take control of the narrative about their culture, and the terms on which it is used for tourism, as well as the opportunity to grow their income.

Through TUI Colourful Cultures, the TUI Care Foundation has teamed up with Niki Nanka Encounters Foundation to support the preservation of this rich cultural heritage. Working with community elders and cultural practitioners, the project collects and professionally archives Ninki Nanka stories, music and traditions in national repositories, emphasising community ownership and respect for local values. The project establishes an incubator programme providing around 30 training sessions to 150 people on storytelling techniques, writing skills, product design, sustainable production methods and quality control. The training also covers business management, marketing and market access strategies. Experts work alongside local craftspeople to facilitate knowledge exchange, whilst also ensuring cultural authenticity, with particular focus on engaging women and young people.

The project supports the creation of a Ninki Nanka children's storybook, handicrafts and cultural products featuring the Ninki Nanka motifs, branded sustainable merchandise, and new tourism experiences and itineraries. Products are developed through collaborative design processes combining traditional knowledge with contemporary aesthetics to meet tourism market demands. The project aims improves the Ninki Nanka Trail experience through interpretation planning, guide training, development of immersive cultural experiences, and the establishment of a multi-purpose Incubator Space within the Ninki Nanka Centre. This serves as a hub for cultural activities, creative competitions, product sales, community engagement and business links for the trail with tourism and creative industries.

The project benefits more than 500 people, including cultural groups at community-based tourism villages, women's groups, creatives, artists, craft producers and tour guides. It also engages with 12,000 community members along the Ninki Nanka Trail. Cross-border collaboration extends the project's impact through partnerships between The Gambia, neighbouring countries, and international partners, laying the groundwork for potential regional expansion of the Ninki Nanka concept.

Project Partner

Ninki Nanka Encounters Foundation (NNE) is a Gambian charitable organisation that brings people together to work towards the responsible development of the Ninki Nanka Trail (NNT) to harness the untapped potential of The River Gambia for the benefit of local people. Its role is to facilitate local tourism businesses, government and communities to implement a responsible approach to developing The River as a tourist destination and deliver inspiring tourism products and experiences. The foundation aims to ensure empowerment and a fair deal for communities and create extraordinary, mutually beneficial encounters between tourists and local people.

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