Sharing our commitment & passion for people, places and planet
Our partners
Ninki Nanka Encounters works with a wide range of local partners who share our commitment and passion for the Ninki Nanka Trail and responsible tourism development in The Gambia. We introduce you to a few of them here.
experiential learning partners
Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia (ITTOG)
The team from ITTOG are at the heart of delivering all our NNE experiential learning tours drawing on their local knowledge, relationships with local communities and tourism stakeholders and responsible tourism expertise.
ITTOG was founded and established in 2008 by Dr. Adama Bah, Sheikh Tejan Nyang and Helen Wilcockson through links with South Nottingham College (now Central College Nottingham, UK) and eventually with Leeds Beckett University (UK) in 2010. ITTOG specialises in hands on training mainly in the Travel and Tourism sectors with special emphasis on travel agency, tour operations, tour guiding, ground operations, events management, entrepreneurship/ business skills development, responsible/sustainable tourism, community-based tourism, and general tourism business management.
The institution is duly registered and accredited as a training provider by the NAQAA of The Gambia. ITTOG has had lots of international acclaim from winning Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award 2012 for contribution to people and culture and in 2014 short listed to the top 3 by the World Travel and Tourism Council Tourism for Tomorrow Awards for responsible tourism projects. The institute has been recognized by the World Bank as “the only institute in The Gambia offering structured learning in tourism backed by creditable partners” and from 2008 to date, the Institute has trained over 1120 students including students from the sub-region namely Senegal, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria. Learn more about them on their website here.
Introduction to ITTOG
my Gambia
Proudly located in The Gambia, serving the entire country, My Gambia serves as a creative tool for the needs of businesses connected to tourism. My Gambia shares a mission in showcasing The Gambia as a cultural jewel with a strong hospitality tradition. Being the only online platform releasing monthly magazines to promote The Gambia as an all-year-round destination makes it more and more popular among all who are part of the tourism industry.
We are an international, multicultural and multilingual team of individuals living in The Gambia who share many years of experience in the field of tourism, marketing and media production.
Offering a wide range of sights, tastes, sounds, and feelings, we have created a platform where every tourist provider can offer their services, and every traveler finds their choice. And now we expand the service to accommodation and tours & trips booking option to enable travelers to complete their holiday planning under one roof. With our new dynamic approach combined with Ninki Nanka Encounters, together, we can create an overall experience for visitors to The Gambia.
Responsible Accommodation Partners
Footsteps Ecolodge
Footsteps Ecolodge is one of our carefully selected responsible accommodation providers with some of the best eco-credentials in the whole of The Gambia and a wide range of local things to do both inside and outside their lodge. Watch “Babysteps” filmed in 2015 where the owner/director of Footsteps – David White – shares the story about why Footsteps was created and what they wanted to achieve.
Mama Africa
Mama Africa is an art centre and art residence founded by renowned artist Isha Fofana which offers spacious artistic guesthouses, an exotic garden together with her unique gallery. During your stay you have the option to take part in a wide range of activities and creative workshops – such as classical batik, dance or drum lessons, jewellery making, concerts or a herbal excursion, visits to other social projects, discussion forums with women from our projects and other bespoke activities.
In addition, Mama Africa is a non-profit association that actively cares for and successfully supports women and girls. For Isha it is important to empower and help women them cope with the problems of everyday life so that they can master the future independently. The key is to ensure an environment for economic self-determination. Find out more from Isha here.
