Sheikh Tejan Nyang

Sheikh Tejan Nyang (also spelled Sheikh Tijan Nyang) is a veteran Gambian tourism educator, consultant, former Director of Tourism, and co-founder of the Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia (ITTOG). He is widely regarded as one of The Gambia’s leading figures in tourism policy, hospitality training, and regional tourism standards.[thepoint][ittog][icrt]

Career in tourism

Nyang began his career as a sales consultant with Saga Tours, one of Norway’s major tour operators, before joining The Gambia’s civil service in 1978 as a Tourism Assistant. He rose to become Director of Tourism in 1990, then took voluntary retirement in 1993 and worked in the private hotel sector, including as Rooms Division Manager at Sunwing and General Manager of African Village Hotel.[ittog][icrt]

He later coordinated the International Year of Volunteers for the United Nations and returned to government to coordinate The Gambia Tourism Master Plan studies. His career has therefore spanned international tour operations, public administration, hotel management, and policy planning.[ittog][icrt]

ITTOG and education

In 2008, Nyang co-founded ITTOG with Dr. Adama Bah and Helen Wilcockson, building links with South Nottingham College in the United Kingdom. The institute trains Gambians in travel agency work, tour operations, tour guiding, ground operations, events management, entrepreneurship, and business skills.[ittog][thepoint]

As ITTOG’s principal and long-serving Head of School, he helped train generations of tourism and hospitality professionals. He retired from the Head of School role after nearly two decades, with the institution crediting him for shaping its professionalism, standards, and graduate culture.[ittog][thepoint]

Regional leadership

Nyang chairs the ECOWAS Tourism Committee on hotel classification and the UNIDO/ECOWAS tourism standards work. He has also served on eco-label committees and represented The Gambia in regional efforts to harmonize hotel standards and tourism curricula.[ittog][voicegambia]

In 2025, he represented The Gambia at the CARICOM Heads of Government Tourism Forum in Jamaica, where he called for stronger Africa–Caribbean cooperation in tourism education, workforce development, heritage preservation, and cultural exchange.[gambiadaily.gov][atqnews]

Advocacy and recognition

Nyang is an outspoken advocate for tourism as a strategic national sector. He has argued that tourism contributes substantially to GDP, foreign exchange, and jobs, and has urged Gambian governments to prioritize quality standards, community-based tourism, and sustainable investment.[thepoint][thepoint][grts]

His recognition includes the Balafong Award in 2011 for contributions to West African tourism development and inclusion among West Africa’s “100 most influential personalities” in 2014. ITTOG later received a 2025 Balafong Award for human-resource development in West Africa.[ittog][atqnews]

Legacy

Sheikh Tejan Nyang’s legacy lies in professionalizing Gambian tourism education and connecting The Gambia to wider West African and Afro-Caribbean tourism networks. He is especially associated with the idea that tourism should preserve cultural dignity, benefit local communities, and meet high service standards rather than simply attract visitor numbers.[thepoint][gambiadaily.gov][gambiana]