Senegambia beach in The Gambia. Picture: Unsplash
AS TABOO as it may seem, the topic of sex tourism in The Gambia keeps resurfacing on social media.
For some time now, the country on the west coast of Africa grabbed headlines with stories of middle-aged Western women in search of long-term love, holiday romances and one night stands.
Sex tourism is the organisation of holidays with the purpose of taking advantage of the lack of restrictions imposed on sexual activity and prostitution by some foreign countries.
It often involves tourists travelling to a foreign country to solicit and engage in sexual activity and, in the case of The Gambia, sex tourism is big business.
In a recent post on X, @AfricanHub, revisited the taboo topic.
According to the page, The Gambia was the biggest sex tourism destination in Africa for European women; old, retired British women and other European women visit the country in search of young men to date or pay for sex.
Gambia was the biggest Sex Tourism destination in Africa for European women.
— African Hub (@AfricanHub_) April 13, 2024
Old, retired British women and other European women visit the country in search of young men to date or pay for sex. These men were called bumsters.
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Some consider sex tourism in the country to be between women and bumsters (young unemployed men who have sex with foreign women in the country) but the industry also involves young women and older European men participating in this service.
With the topic resurfacing on X, here is what social media users on the platform had to say.
The same is true for European and American gay men who visit African countries to avail themselves of sex with African men. They feel it's easier to keep their sexuality a secret if they mess around in a foreign country. And of course there's that rumor about Black men...
— Sage John Amenti (@SageAmenti) April 13, 2024
@SageAmenti said: “The same is true for European and American gay men who visit African countries to avail themselves of sex with African men.
“They feel it's easier to keep their sexuality a secret if they mess around in a foreign country. And of course there's that rumour about Black men...”
@Nomadlostdark said: “Seems like a win win to me. Guys getting paid to bang foreign hotties? Not seeing a problem here 🤷.”
Seems like a win win to me. Guys getting paid to bang foreign hotties? Not seeing a problem here 🤷
— Nomad (@Nomadlostdark) April 13, 2024
@NikkiZOfficial said: “It goes both ways 😒 men are called busters and the women? Let’s call them desperate predators … again preying on those THEY KNOW need and want because of the atrocities done by mostly their forefathers … #StockholmSyndrome needs to stop!!!!”
Their private parts, their personal playgrounds! Let them frolic and have a blast with their bits, as long as everyone's having a ball! https://t.co/IilKTACSZe
— Wilson Morokolo (@morokolo_w3597) April 13, 2024
While @morokolo_w3597 wrote: “Their private parts, their personal playgrounds! Let them frolic and have a blast with their bits, as long as everyone's having a ball!”