Tourism in Senegal

From a relatively small industry at the introduction of the first Club Med resort in the 1970s, tourism has grown to be an important part of the Senegalese economy.

[1] In 2008, Senegal's foreign tourist visitors had reached 1 million, attracted to luxury beach resorts, natural and historic sites.

[1] Principal cities of interest include the capital, Dakar; Saint-Louis, an old colonial town; and the Mouride holy centre of Touba.

Gorée Island, formerly a centre of the West African slave trade and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, draws many visitors.

[4] The Basse Casamance National Park, in the far southwest, includes both ecotourism and tropical forest excursions, and a popular coastal beach resort aimed at foreign tourism.

On attempting to enter the park (Jan 2019) via Emaye I was turned back by heavily armed army personnel, in no uncertain terms.

[5] A number of agencies, boards, and partnerships which administer promote and regulate the Senegalese tourism sector report to this ministry.

Beach and cliffs at Toubab Dialao, ( Petite Côte , Senegal ).
A modern tourist hotel catering to Europeans in the resort town of Saly .
Visitors loaded into a Pirogue for a pleasure trip from Ngor to île de Ngor, a popular holiday spot for Dakar's locals. In the background is the Ngor Hotel, catering to Senegalese and business travelers to Dakar.
A yellow-crowned gonolek ( Laniarius barbarus ), photographed in the estuaries of the Saloum Delta National Park .
Western tourists visit rhinoceroses kept at the Bandia Natural Reserve near Dakar.