{"id":96206,"date":"2026-04-18T09:14:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T09:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/oceania-sirena-docks-in-banjul-for-cruise-tourism-growth"},"modified":"2026-04-18T11:01:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T11:01:15","slug":"oceania-sirena-docks-in-banjul-for-cruise-tourism-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/oceania-sirena-docks-in-banjul-for-cruise-tourism-growth","title":{"rendered":"Oceania Sirena Docks in Banjul for Cruise Tourism Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. <\/strong><\/span><b>The cruise ship Oceania Sirena on Wednesday docked at the Banjul Seaport, marking another step in the growth of cruise tourism in The Gambia.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The vessel, carrying hundreds of tourists, was welcomed by the Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard) in collaboration with West African Tours. Many passengers disembarked to visit tourist sites across the country.<\/p>\n<p>The arrival adds to a growing number of cruise ship visits recorded this year, reflecting The Gambia\u2019s increasing visibility on the global cruise tourism map.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking during a plaque and flag presentation ceremony in honour of the ship, Lazar Kujabi, Activities and Promotions Manager at the GTBoard, described cruise tourism as a key segment of the national tourism industry.<\/p>\n<p>He said the sector contributes significantly to the economy through spending by visitors in local markets, excursion sites, and services provided at the port and in surrounding communities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCruise tourism is an important component of our tourism development. We are working with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, the Gambia Ports Authority, and private operators to strengthen coordination and improve the visitor experience,\u201d Kujabi said.<\/p>\n<p>He added that the economic benefits of cruise tourism extend beyond formal institutions to local vendors, tour operators, and communities hosting excursions.<\/p>\n<p>According to him, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, in collaboration with stakeholders, is developing a national strategy aimed at addressing challenges and expanding opportunities in the sector.<\/p>\n<p>He noted that proposals are being considered to expand cruise tourism routes along the River Gambia to further diversify visitor experiences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a country with significant untapped potential in our waterways. With the right framework, The Gambia can become a more competitive cruise destination,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Kujabi said most of the visiting tourists went on organised excursions across the country, while others remained on board the vessel.<\/p>\n<p>He added that a schedule of upcoming cruise ship arrivals had already been confirmed, indicating growing interest in The Gambia as a cruise destination.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith continued growth, our focus is to sustain and expand the sector for the benefit of all Gambians,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Gambia<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. The cruise ship Oceania Sirena on Wednesday docked at the Banjul Seaport, marking another step in the growth of cruise tourism in The Gambia. The vessel, carrying hundreds of tourists, was welcomed by the Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard) in collaboration with West African Tours. Many passengers disembarked to visit tourist sites across [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":96205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-96206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Oceania Sirena Docks in Banjul for Cruise Tourism Growth - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The cruise ship Oceania Sirena on Wednesday docked at the Banjul Seaport, marking another step in the growth of cruis ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/oceania-sirena-docks-in-banjul-for-cruise-tourism-growth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Oceania Sirena Docks in Banjul for Cruise Tourism Growth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The cruise ship Oceania Sirena on Wednesday docked at the Banjul Seaport, marking another step in the growth of cruis ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/oceania-sirena-docks-in-banjul-for-cruise-tourism-growth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-18T09:14:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-18T11:01:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/04\/sm_1776496984.053161.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/oceania-sirena-docks-in-banjul-for-cruise-tourism-growth#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/oceania-sirena-docks-in-banjul-for-cruise-tourism-growth\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Oceania Sirena Docks in Banjul for Cruise Tourism Growth\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-18T09:14:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-18T11:01:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/oceania-sirena-docks-in-banjul-for-cruise-tourism-growth\"},\"wordCount\":362,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/oceania-sirena-docks-in-banjul-for-cruise-tourism-growth#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2026\/04\/sm_1776496984.053161.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/oceania-sirena-docks-in-banjul-for-cruise-tourism-growth#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/oceania-sirena-docks-in-banjul-for-cruise-tourism-growth\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/oceania-sirena-docks-in-banjul-for-cruise-tourism-growth\",\"name\":\"Oceania Sirena Docks in Banjul for Cruise Tourism Growth - 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