ABSTRACT
In Punta Arenas airport at the tip of mainland Latin America, T-shirts on sale enable buyers to boast of having been to Finisterre, the world’s end. East of this end of the world lie the Falkland Islands. The Falklands Conflict catapulted the islands onto the world stage and accelerated ongoing modernisation, as Britain had to be seen to cherish this colonial outpost on which so much blood and treasure had been expended. The Falklands are self-supporting, the British pay only for defence, which, with foreign affairs, remains a reserved responsibility. Access is an important issue for Falklands tourism, particularly given the continuing dispute with Argentina. Tourism is an essential, integral part of the Falkland Islands economy. Its operation and management consequently has to be and indeed is professional, thus the Falkland Islands Tourist Board is efficiently run, a stand-alone agency working closely with government, operators, Falklands Conservation and local people to develop an effective, sustainable strategy and policy.
