The tiny island of St Helena in the south Atlantic will become easier to reach from November 2024 with the launch of flights from Cape Town in South Africa.
Currently, the Airlink flight to St Helena, a British Overseas Territory, operates from Johannesburg.
The weekly service from Johannesburg will increase to twice weekly at the end of this month before moving to Cape Town for next winter.
Shifting the flight to Cape Town, the main South Africa gateway for British holidaymakers, will make it easier to sell St Helena as an addition to a South African itinerary.
The island is best known as the exile home of Napoleon and current home of Jonathan the tortoise, the oldest living animal – as well as one of the few countries on the UK’s first ‘green list’ during the pandemic.
Head of Tourism Matt Joshua described it as a ‘the ultimate bucket-list’ destination due to its remoteness, its biodiversity and mix of soft adventures activities such as hiking and diving, extreme sports and cultural attractions.
St Helena, which only opened its airport in 2017, has just 100 rooms and attracts no more than 5,000 visitors a year, at least 25% of whom travel from the UK due to the island’s strong links with Britain.
While a handful of operators already feature the island, Matt said he’d like others such as A&K, Audley Travel and Kuoni to add St Helena to their brochures.
However, he admitted it’s a ‘luxury’ destination due to the high price tag, which is around £3,500 per person for a week, including flights from South Africa.
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Currently, the Airlink flight to St Helena, a British Overseas Territory, operates from Johannesburg.
The weekly service from Johannesburg will increase to twice weekly at the end of this month before moving to Cape Town for next winter.
Shifting the flight to Cape Town, the main South Africa gateway for British holidaymakers, will make it easier to sell St Helena as an addition to a South African itinerary.
The island is best known as the exile home of Napoleon and current home of Jonathan the tortoise, the oldest living animal – as well as one of the few countries on the UK’s first ‘green list’ during the pandemic.
Head of Tourism Matt Joshua described it as a ‘the ultimate bucket-list’ destination due to its remoteness, its biodiversity and mix of soft adventures activities such as hiking and diving, extreme sports and cultural attractions.
St Helena, which only opened its airport in 2017, has just 100 rooms and attracts no more than 5,000 visitors a year, at least 25% of whom travel from the UK due to the island’s strong links with Britain.
While a handful of operators already feature the island, Matt said he’d like others such as A&K, Audley Travel and Kuoni to add St Helena to their brochures.
However, he admitted it’s a ‘luxury’ destination due to the high price tag, which is around £3,500 per person for a week, including flights from South Africa.
The post ‘Bucket-list’ island to become more accessible with new air service appeared first on Travel Gossip.
Continue reading...
