MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Stanley Services promotes rambling and fly fishing groups

Rambling groups and fly fishing are among the latest options offered to Falkland Islands tourists by Stanley Services, the company with the longest experience in land based tourism in the Islands going back to the late eighties.

Although Stanley Services main business in bunkering and fuel supplies it also has a Tourism Department, FI Holidays that for the last three years has been under Manager Jenny Luxton with a long experience in the industry.

"We feel we must be creative and come up with new ideas, new proposals for tourists who come to the Islands, particularly trying to extend their stay in the Falklands or making them into repeat groups", said Jenny Luxton interviewed by MercoPressin Montevideo. "This last season for land based tourism was encouraging and the coming 06/07 is very promising. We have the rambling groups' option which is attracting many British tourists with several groups booked for next November".

Tourism has become the fastest growing industry in the Falklands with an estimated 40.000 day visitors from cruise vessels touring the South Atlantic and Antarctica which call into the Islands during the austral season.

However land based tourism generates most lasting activity and takes full advantage of existent infrastructure benefiting both the Islands capital Stanley and the Camp.

Jenny said that the last two seasons had shown certain stagnation for land based tourism, "maybe because of a weak US dollar, but we now have plenty of bookings and confirmed, for next season from the United States. It seems the Americans are turning up again".

Furthermore promotion of the fly fishing season which covers March-April and September-October should help the Islands industry to consolidate its activity for a few more months.

"Actually the Islands seem more attractive than the continent for fly fishing according to the experts: we've been told that in Rio Gallegos (Argentine Patagonia) the specimens are larger but fewer while in the Falklands smaller but far more abundant". However the main emphasis of Stanley Services is to extend the season by "encouraging an add-on week in the Falklands for tours in Southern Chile. The same way as land tours to the Islands tend to add a week in Chilean Patagonia, we're working for the same but from Chile", revealed Jenny who feels there's potential to explore: most land based tourists fly over from Punta Arenas with Lan Chile.

But overseas promotion also plays a crucial role in attracting tourists to the Falklands and Stanley Services representatives regularly visit the Bird Fair in England, in the month of August, and TravelMart Latinamerica in September.

"This is because we work with specialized tourism, ornithology and photography groups, who have done quite a bit of travelling and know how to enjoy the pristine, unspoilt wildlife and landscape of the Falklands". "They appreciate the quantity and tameness of the Islands wildlife plus the local flavour input which means meeting and being looked after by people who were born and bred in the Islands, which is also becoming a rare asset in the industry worldwide", underlines Jenny. "I'd say most of them leave the Islands very satisfied, in spite of the weather, which is important because these are open minded people, very knowledgeable and well travelled". Stanley Services options, operating from the company's Malvina House Hotel in Stanley, include a one week tour with two/three destinations: a day visit to Volunteer Point to see the King Penguins plus staying at lodges in Pebble Island and Sea Lion Island where all kind of sea mammals can be sighted and photographed.

The two weeks package adds Port Howard and the islands of Carcass, Bleaker and Saunders with its world famous black browed albatrosses. According to Jenny "Stanley Services long standing reputation in tourism is one of the company's main assets, a fact supported by an interesting number of repeat groups".

However Jenny is also grateful to the standing support from Falkland Islands Tourist Board Manager Connie Stevens.

"Connie has promoted the Falkland Islands extremely well and actually she did most of the ground work for the rambling groups in UK.I think we make a nice working team".

Jenny Luxton before joining Stanley Services was Manager for several years of Sea Lion Island lodge and is currently an elected director of the Tourist Board with strong support from the Camp constituency which most benefits from land based tourism.

More information see: Falkland Islands Holidays