44 FEATURE
falkland islands
New on the scene is Norwegian Cruise Line (ncl. com), which is heading to South America for the fi rst time since 2010. NCL recently announced a 14-day voyage including the Falklands. Windstar Cruise (
windstarcruises.com) is similarly including the Falklands in 2015-16 itineraries. Hotels: The Falklands fi rst fi ve-star hotel is in the planning. The proposal by an as yet unannounced London-based group will redevelop a signifi cant existing waterfront property in Stanley and offer a fi ne dining outlet by 2015-16. Training: Besides FITB exhibiting at this year’s August Birdfair in Rutland and WTM, Falklands- based operators International Tours & Travel and Falkland Islands Holidays will be on hand at LATA’s Selling Long Haul-sponsored Experience Latin America trade show (
experiencelatinamerica.co.uk) at Canary Wharf June 16-18. Operators: Following the sell-out success of its recent April tour, Ramblers Worldwide (
ramblersholidays.co.uk) is adding two extra departures to its 2015 programme. The FITB recently worked with Cox and Kings
“The islands offer a great twin-centre option with Chile but don’t necessarily limit customers to just one week on the ground as it doesn’t
do the Falklands justice” MAGGI SMIT, MANAGING DIRECTOR, WINDOWS ON THE WILD
TAKE TO THE SKIES BY MARK STRATTON “My most enjoyable moments involved island-hopping the archipelago via the Falkland Islands Government Air Service (FIGAS). It’s a breathtaking experience looking down from a low-flying flight aboard a nine-seater Britten-Norman Islander over craggy islands surrounded by russet-brown kelp fields striping the aquamarine South Atlantic Ocean. The pilots’ occasionally buzz low to view basking elephant-seals and shipwrecks. Flights cover 29 islands and operate a circuit around the most popular ones, stopping on small grassy airstrips to put down and fetch passengers. Baggage is limited to 20kg, so pull out
your heavy cameras and keep them handy for a feast of aerial photography. Quaintly, local radio nightly reads out passenger manifests for the following day, ensuring everybody knows each other’s business on the Falklands.”
(
coxandkings.co.uk) on cooperative advertising, staff training, and media features, which saw an uplift of sales. Journey Latin America’s (
journeylatinamerica.co.uk) recent Falklands adventure competition attracted in excess of 4000 entries. Online operators Opodo, Expedia, and Orbitz recently adjusted their systems to recognize the Falklands’ Mount Pleasant Airport booking code: ‘MPN’.
Tourism talk “We expect this year to be very good for tourism in the Falklands. Preliminary fi gures for the fi rst quarter of 2014 are
already 30% up on last year and we expect What’s new
Trade News: To increase awareness, FITB (
falklandislands.com) has produced a brochure How to Sell the Falklands. Aimed at travel agents and homeworkers, it’s expected to be accompanied later in 2014 by a new agent- training programme. Following on from the success of FITB’s new 2013 accommodation accreditation scheme with a grading system in line with European standards, this year will see the scheme extended to include restaurants and food outlets.
The Falkland Islands Tourist Board’s new marketing tagline is ‘A Lifetime of Memories’ and Stanley the Penguin is its new mascot. Cruising: High on FITB’s agenda is developing a new seven-day Falklands cruise circuit to encourage longer stays by passengers, thus providing stronger support to the outer islands.
Birdlife in the Falklands is one of the most imporant draws for UK visitors to the South Atlantic islands
land-based inbound tourist arrivals to grow 9.6% to over 5,000. Driving this is an improving economy in the UK, our main overseas market, and indeed Europe and the US. We also look forward to another
promising year with
the cruise industry. We expect a
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