The airline BMI thinks so and plans to expand its schedule of flights
from Heathrow to Freetown. Dan Milmo was sceptical, so he boarded a
flight to find out
As a holiday destination, Sierra Leone is a hard sell. Still recovering from
a civil war
that ended six years ago and the lowest ranking country on the United Nations
Human Development Index, it is a less attractive prospect than other more
developed African countries.
However, Heathrow's second largest airline, BMI, wants to attract tourists to
the state after taking on the route between Heathrow and Sierra Leone's capital,
Freetown. But there is still some way to go before Sierra Leone rivals fellow
west African states such as Gambia as a holiday choice, judging by a trip to
Freetown with BMI's chief executive earlier this month.
BMI is expanding its schedule to four flights per week to Freetown While BMI
is providing plenty of access by expanding its schedule to four flights per
week, Sierra Leone's tourist gateway, Lungi International Airport, is separated
from Freetown by a wide estuary that must be bridged by a choice of hairy
options. The Foreign
Office advises against a five-hour car journey at night – when all BMI
flights arrive – because the roads are unsafe after dusk, while the ferry
service was "warned by the Port Authorities in January 2007 about overloading,
and has been known to operate in poor visibility without lights".
That leaves a seven-minute trip in a Russian helicopter service, whittled
down from two providers after the other, operated by Paramount Airlines, was
suspended last year when one of its helicopters plunged into the ground at Lungi
killing 19 people including Togo's sports minister. The owner of the remaining
service, UTAir, had safety problems highlighted last year when it was banned
from operating charter and single flights in the EU by Russian authorities.
BMI boss Nigel Turner admits that there are "issues" with the helicopter
services and getting out of Lungi in general, but he is "fully expecting the
government to deal with it". Despite the infrastructure problems, inevitable in
a country that has been wracked by civil conflict, he is optimistic that Brits
can be drawn to a country that has strong links with the UK, most recently
following our military intervention in the war in 2000.
"I have seen a country pretty much in harmony, the democratically elected
government is very much in control. One always needs to be careful, but you need
to be careful in Brixton frankly." The tourism minister, Hindolo Trye, admits
that Sierra Leone's image is "not good, if I could be truthful". He adds that
people hold misconceptions about the country but he "cannot blame them, it is a
country coming from war".
It makes Sierra Leone and Freetown a long-term project for BMI, which does
well out of the route thanks to the considerable Sierra Leone diaspora in the US
and Europe that provides regular demand for flights. If the infrastructure is
put in place, Freetown could be making more regular appearances on Tripadvisor.
The beaches around Freetown are stunning, but one of the nearest – Laka beach on
the western edge of the city – is nearly an hour's drive away on a badly rutted
mud road. The out-of-town attractions such as Tacugama Chimpanzee sanctuary are
a short taxi ride away, but the rest of the country is difficult to reach
because of poor road conditions.
Mr Trye says Sierra Leone is determined to project an image of a "peaceful,
eager to develop nation", and the first step will be to market the country as a
holiday destination to its own people. In the meantime, it will be a place for
the most experienced travellers only.
Is
Sierra Leone a suitable place for a holiday? | Travel | guardian.co.uk
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