MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands' cruise season new record: 67.700 visitors
FITB Manager Dowing entusiastic with the increas of 32% of 06/07 CRUISE ship tourism in the Falkland Islands has increased by a massive 32%.
Falkland Islands Tourist Board Manager Jake Downing confirmed, "Over 67,700 cruise ship passengers were cleared to land in the Falklands between October 2007 and April 2008, representing a 32% increase on 2006/07 season numbers." Tourism Coordinator of the Islands' most successful cruise ship agency, Sulivan Shipping Ltd, Samantha Marsh said, "Antarctica as a destination is increasingly popular, cruise ships are also getting bigger so the amount of passengers cruising is increasing worldwide." Sulivan Shipping dealt with approximately 84% of all cruise ships visiting the Falklands this season, including the expedition ships that do multiple landings on smaller islands and destinations outside of the capital Stanley. A total of 46 different vessels visited the Falklands during the season, as compared to 42 in 2006/07. This included ten maiden calls from Ocean Nova, Hanse Explorer, Fram, Peace Boat's Topaz, Grand Voyager, Boudicca, Azamara Journey, Spirit of Adventure, Costa Cruises Costa Victoria and Minerva. Local increases are set to continue with cruise holidays experiencing unprecedented growth across the globe. CLIA, the official trade organization of the cruise industry of North America, recently revealed that 43 new ships with a total of 106,000 berths will be operational before 2010. Speaking of further development onshore in the Islands, Ms Marsh said, "…it would be helpful to see an increasingly pro-active attitude from the Government towards tourism development. It would make a vast difference to efficiency and first impressions to have a suitable car park surface funded, and the landing area to be improved. Tendering is not an ideal situation, but we could make the best of it by improving the facilities we currently have. The Islands also suffer to a degree from a lack of human resources, Ms Marsh added, "We very much need more people to work within the industry, private driver guides, and tour guides are all in very short supply." Overall, however, things are looking extremely positive for the Falkland Islands, Mr Downing said, "This considerable increase in arrivals is part of a larger growth pattern, with latest calculations from the Tourist Board showing that passenger numbers have grown by an average of 17% per annum for seven consecutive seasons." By Lisa Johnston – SeAled PR - Stanley
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesCommenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!