News

Results released by the Falkland Islands Tourist Board have revealed cruise ship tourism brought almost £4.2 million into the Falklands in the 2008-9 season.  This figure includes spending on tours, shopping, food and beverages, as well as over £1.3 million in the form of government taxes and levies.  Thirty-nine percent of cruise visitors were from the USA, followed by Canada (10%) and the UK (8.6%).  ”What’s very promising is that almost half of the 599 cruise passengers we surveyed expressed an interest in returning to the Falklands for a land-based holiday,” said Jake Downing, General Manager of the Tourist Board.  ”This represents the potential for considerable economic benefit to the Falkland Islands, as land-based visitors spend on average £917 per head on the Islands.”  Visitors from the UK are most likely to want to return for a land-based holiday, and the Tourist Board is now planning an annual programme of marketing activity in the UK to capitalise on this, Mr Downing said.