Gambia is cracking down on British grannies who are flocking to the country in search of toy boys, with a plea for “quality tourists ” to visit instead.
The small West African nation has long been a sanctuary for older women seeking a lover or partner, but it’s now fed up with its reputation as a sex hotspot for mature women from Britain and Europe.
Abubacarr Camara, director of the Gambia Tourism Board, stated in 2022: “What we want is quality tourists. Tourists that come to enjoy the country and the culture, but not tourists that come just for sex”.
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Sex tourism in the country has been thriving since the 1990s when budget package tours to the former British colony became popular. A documentary titled “Sex On The Beach” aired four years ago, shocking viewers when reporter Seyi Rhodes discovered bars filled with elderly white women looking for younger Gambian men.
(Image: Getty Images)
One pensioner told Seyi that the country was “paradise” because you can have a different man every night.
The sunny shores of Gambia might present an idyllic facade, but beneath it lies a harsh reality where men often enter relationships for financial gain, exploiting the nation’s economic challenges with low wages and scarce job opportunities.
Kausu Samateh, a local tourist guide, didn’t mince words when talking to The Telegraph: “People are poor here, so they have no choice.”
He added: “They think it is better to go to Europe where they will have a better life. They hope that the old ladies will take them.”
Near Banjul, the nation’s capital, the Senegambia strip has turned into a mecca for solitary British seniors, resembling Benidorm-style getaways, while tourism itself punches in at about 20 per cent of the country’s GDP.
(Image: c4)
Lamin Fatty from the Child Protection Alliance doesn’t shy away from pointing the finger at the UK government, arguing it could do more to prevent British nationals from preying on young Gambian lads.
Heidi Hepworth, a mother-of-nine, became a talking point after she dumped her spouse for Mamadu ‘Salieu’ Jallow, 34, a Gambian lover she found online, prompting her move towards Islam and a brand new relationship despite ending her 23-year marriage to 48 year-old-Andy.
In 2018, Heidi declared: “No one imagined this would last but we love each other and are making plans to marry. I’ve never been happier.”
Meanwhile, her ex-husband suggested she’d hit a mid-life snag and was being led astray.
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