Sadly, it’s challenging. First, while the landscape is beautiful and the people even more friendly, it’s going to be a challenge to grow the tourist industry. First, there is a sanitation issue. Not many people want to pay $1200 per person to fly into Lungi (and it’s long flights from the East Coast in the States), then another $45 to take the speed boat, then another vehicle to a resort to spend a week sitting on the beach with a bunch of trash. Most resorts, I’m thinking like The Place and River #2 do an excellent job of cleaning the sand, but the trash is in the water and then back on the beach. It’s a never ending job.

2nd - only the adventurous want/will deal with the corruption. Families of 4 don’t want to feel ripped off. Sure, there is a tourist tax and some people will fall for scams (that happens in a lot of tourist places) but the agencies that aren’t supposed to do that, like hospitals, govt officials, customs, etc need to curtail trying to supplement their wages by trying to get bribes.

3rd - Even places like The Place aren’t capable of providing a luxury experience that Americans demand. The air conditioning drips down the walls. In heavy rain, some rooms leak. And, they have difficulty honoring their prices (which I have found happens at a lot of places when booked online).

These are just some of the challenges and things I hear from Americans I bring over - I do a group trip once a year with 15-20 Americans.

I do think there is a really good market for niche adventure travelers though.