The tourist season in the Falkland Islands opened on Saturday with the arrival of the M/V Ushuaia, which with 84 passengers is typical of the many smaller expedition vessels which pay visits to Stanley and also to some of the outlying islands famous for their abundant wildlife.
The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, IAATO, with over a hundred member organizations held in April its latest annual meeting in Punta Arenas, Chile with a numerous delegation from the Falkland Islands attending given the growing economic significance of the cruise industry and Antarctica tours.
This year’s Falkland Islands season has been much quieter than usual with over 19.000 passengers to the first week of March mainly because of cancellations due to weather and technical issues with a handful related to the political situation created by Argentine harassment early on the season, according to industry sources in the Islands.
The Argentine Government’s acts of intimidation towards cruise companies which have planned to visit the Falkland Islands continues to impact on the Islands tourism industry with a further two ships cancelling their February visits on Wednesday.
Political pressure on organisers of the Seatrade South America convention held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, last week meant the Falkland Islands was ignored during discussions as a tourist destination in the region.
Key players from the Falkland Islands cruise industry attended the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention in Miami last week, when they were also delighted to receive an award from Cruise Insight Magazine for Best Destination Experience.
“Sea Spirit” with 94 passengers and heading for South Georgia was the first cruise ship of the 2011/2012 to call in the Falkland Islands, reports the Penguin News.
Five ships will make their inaugural visits to the Falklands during the coming cruise ship season, reports the Penguin News.The luxurious Seabourn Sojourn (450 passenger capacity) will be among these, along with Island Sky (118 pax) mega yacht L’Austral (264 pax) MS Artania (1200 pax) and Adonia (710 pax).
FALKLAND Islands Tourist Board statistics showed a 90% satisfaction rate yesterday on the busiest day ever in Stanley’s cruise ship visitor history.