St Helena to benefit from increased airlift from November 2024
Ilaria Grasso MacolaSt Helena will gain new airlift to and from Cape Town next November, courtesy of Airlink, following renewed demand for travel to the subtropical island, as well as a second weekly Johannesburg later this month.
St Helena’s head of tourism, Matthew Joshua, said the extra connectivity would help restore tourist volumes to pre-Covid levels by the end of next year. “It’s a gamechanger,” he told TTG@WTM. “Not everyone can stay for a week and some want to stay slightly longer.”
The island welcomed 5,000 tourists in 2019, and had been reliant on maritime links for more than 500 years before its first airport opened in 2017. “We’re not geared up for mass tourism,” Joshua said. “Actually, that would spoil the very thing that makes the island attractive.”
Nevertheless, the UK overseas territory is gearing up to welcome back the few thousand British, South African and French tourists that visit every year with planned infrastructure improvements and investment in training and digital marketing.
It is also preparing to expand its portfolio of experiences with more active exploration options such hikes and cave dives, as well as cultural tours highlighting St Helena’s history beyond its connection to Napoleon.
“There’s more to St Helena historically than just Napoleon,” he added. “The island played a really pivotal role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade and is also famous for its dark history element and the presence of the East India Company.”
Joshua added any future tourism growth would need to happen “organically” and “in alignment” with the provision of new accommodation and services.
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