MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bookings good for coming season says Falklands Tourism Board Executive Director

FITB Executive Director, Stephanie Middleton says the coming 2022/23 season is looking good both for visitors and tourists

The 2022-23 tourist season is “looking good,” says Falkland Islands Tourist Board (FITB) Executive Director Stephanie Middleton, as cruise ships with passenger numbers upwards of a thousand are expected to return to the Falkland Islands for the first time in three years.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic no cruise ships came to the Islands in 2020 and 2021, with smaller “Expedition” type vessels visiting earlier in 2022.

Mrs Middleton said in a Tourist Board meeting on July 14, the 2022/2023 cruise season was, “looking good at the present time within excess of 80,000 passengers should they come in at full capacity...”

This, she said, was similar to the 2019/2020 season.

“With weather cancellations the 2019/2020 ended with 72,000 visitors. There are still lots of unknowns for the forthcoming season as much will depend on protocols for South American ports and whether vessels will have the numbers on board they would

normally have.”

The largest vessels shown include the Sapphire Princess, which carries 2,670 passengers; Norwegian Star, 2,348 passengers; Celebrity Infinity, 2,170 passengers; and the Oosterdam, 1,994 passengers; each currently scheduled to come to the Falklands between four and five times.

A greater range of mid-size vessels are also due to return to the Falklands for the first time since the pandemic, many of which make stops on outer Islands.