The figures for tourist arrivals for November, 2007 have been released by the Gambia Tourism Authority. According to information secured by this column, the total arrivals registered was 22680. The information further indicates that arrivals by air were the highest registering 22467, followed by sea, which registered a total arrival of 201 tourists. Land arrivals registered the lowest numbers with only 12 arrivals.

The information also indicates that these figures in November represent a growth rate of 52% as compared to November 2006, which only figured 14, 774 arrivals.

"The British remain the largest group of visitors to the country with 47.7% followed by the Dutch at 9.03%. The Scandinavians (Norwegians, Danish ad Swedish) also remain a major force in Gambian tourism with a total percentage of 17.01% arrivals in November indicating a growth of 6.27% against October, 2007" the report stated.

The Gambia’s choice as a major holiday destination in the sub-region and continent at large continues unhindered as indicated in the release: "The Gambia remains a major holiday destination; November registered 92.64% of the total air arrivals to be on holidays in The Gambia" this season.

According to the information, the majority of the visitors stayed in The Gambia for seven days, which represents 48.8% of figures for this year.

The modal age group however, is 45-49 years, which does not indicate any changes as compared to October, 2007.

The British topped the figures for land arrivals with 16.42% seconded by the Germans at 14.93%.

On the other hand, sea arrival figures were topped by the Dutch at 33.33% followed by the Spanish and Danish.