MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New General Manager at Falkland Islands Tourist Board

New Zealander Paul Trowell has been appointed as the new General Manager of the Falkland Islands Tourist Board and will take up his duties on 5 April 2010.

Mr Trowell will be moving to the Falklands with his wife and son from New Zealand, where he has been running his own tourism marketing company for the last six years. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge about international and domestic tourism.

He will be arriving in the Falkland Islands at a time of great challenge and great opportunity for the tourism industry, and his responsibilities will include guiding the industry towards achieving the goals set out in the National Tourism Strategy 2012, and marketing the Falkland Islands as a tourism destination. As well as increasing revenue from the cruise sector, a particular focus for Mr Trowell will be on developing the land-based tourism sector.

“I have done a lot of research on the history and present situation of the Falkland Islands over the last few months and look forward to enjoying this unique culture and spectacular natural environment and making a strong contribution to a team that is focused on growing the Falkland Islands brand to the world as a “must do” destination” says Paul.

Falkland Islands Tourist Board Chairman, the Hon Emma Edwards, emphasised the importance of tourism to the Falkland Islands economy and commented “We are looking forward to Paul’s arrival and believe he will bring great knowledge and enthusiasm to his new role. We are confident that he will be well placed to take over from Jake Downing in driving forward the tourist board’s efforts to increase visitor numbers and revenue for the island”.

Jake Downing, who has been in the role of General Manager for the last two and a half years, will be leaving the islands with his family on 10 April 2010, to take up a new post in Alice Springs, Australia