About St Helena Tourism
Tourism on St Helena is still in its developing stage, and is currently exploring the best ways forward.
The St Helena Tourism department is based in the Tourist Office in Main Street, Jamestown. The office opened in 1998. While the functions of the Tourism Office are more or less those of a fully fledged Tourism Board, in practice it has mainly been involved with promotion and servicing.
Tourism has the potential to be the greatest economic force on Saint Helena. The Natural and Historic Environments are the two main main draws to the island, and their protection and enhancements is obviously key to the success of the island as a tourist destination. This has been recognised by the recent development and tourism plans.
TOURISM VISION
St Helena will harness, leverage and in turn conserve for future generations her unique built and natural heritage to provide an appealing and authentic experience which will attract and satisfy a range of niche market tourists for the sustainable benefit of St Helenians and their country's social structure, economy and environment.
The mission statement for the St Helena Tourism Department is:
Passionate about maximising the visitor experience, and developing a desirable, sustainable
heritage-based tourist destination
The tourism and investment policy can be viewed here
St Helena's economy is typical of small islands with high import dependency, limited labour market and high transport transaction costs. It has not made the transition to the global market as it is heavily dependent on UK government assistance. Government is the majority employer with limited employment in private sector in commercial and retail operations, fishing, agriculture and construction. More recently St Helena has seen a small but growing volume of tourism.
The growth of tourism on St Helena is highly dependent on the British Government's decision on air access which will open up a new gateway for a more viable tourism industry.
In March 2005, DFID (Department for International Development) approved, subject to acceptable contracts and a thorough environmental impact assessment, the construction of an airport, increasing the modes of access to the island. There is currently a pause in the negociations due to the economic climate of Britain, the island awaits its future at the end of 2009. The Westminster Hall debate on the airport can be viewed HERE.
The future of tourism on St Helena currently hinges on the decision for improved access, and funds for major tourism infrastructure.