Saly (also called Sali or Saly Portudal) is a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germ ...

area in

Thiès Region Thiès is a region of western Senegal. The capital is also called Thiès. Geography Thiès has two coastlines, one in the north with the Grande Côte housing the Niayes vegetable market, one to the south with the Petite Côte, one of the tour ...

on the Petite Côte of

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

, south of

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

. It is the top tourist destination in all of

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

and has the status of a commune.

History

Saly was originally a Portuguese

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

known as ''Porto de Ale'', which became ''Portudal'', and later ''Sali Portudal''. On February 24, 1984, the resort was created on a previously unoccupied tract of land near the former trading post. It was about this time that tourism began to take off in Senegal.

Administration

Adansonia digitata in Saly, Senegal 2007

Saly is part of

M'bour M'Bour or Mbour ( ar, مبور; Wolof: ''Mbuur''), is a city in the Thiès Region of Senegal. It lies on the Petite Côte, approximately eighty kilometers south of Dakar. It is home to a population of nearly 233,000 (2013 census). The city's ma ...

Thiès Thiès (; ar, ثيس, Ṯyass; Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population officially estimated at 320,000 in 2005. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and St- ...

Flora

The resort is located on a sandy beach lined with coconut palm trees.

Population

The population is difficult to quantify because of the constant stream of tourists in and out of the area as well as the number of temporary residents. It has been suggested that an average of 20,000 people live in the area at any given time. The resident population was counted at 29,945 in the 2013 census.

Economy

Saly's economy relies almost entirely on tourism. Hotel complexes, nightclubs, bars, restaurants, shops, water sports, real estate agencies all compete for the business of wealthy visitors from other countries. Seminars and symposiums are often held in Saly.

Social problems

The rapid development of mass tourism in a relatively poor country has had some negative consequences, such as petty crime, prostitution,

pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...

, and the spread of AIDS and other

sexually transmitted disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral ...

s. For a long time, these social problems were not discussed publicly so that the resort's reputation would not be tarnished. An observatory for the protection of children against abuse and sexual exploitation called ''Avenir de l'Enfant'' (The Child's Future) was created in M'bour by a Senegalese

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

in 2002. In 2003, M6, a French television channel, broadcast a report focusing on Saly as part of the show ''Ça me révolte'', meaning "That Disgusts Me". The show had hitherto focussed mainly on sex tourism in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Education

The

Lycée Français Jacques Prévert Lycée Français Jacques Prévert is a French international school in Saly, Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Se ...

, a French international school, is in Saly.

References

Bibliography

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L'Observateur

External links

Saly and sexual tourism

Web Portal dedicated to Saly Portudal
{{Authority control Populated places in Thiès Region Communes of Senegal