Icelandair will operate a Boeing 757 accommodating 183 passengers, with flights in March, April and May.
Icelandair’s first flight will land at Jerez Airport on 24 March, according to the announcement made by Rafael de Reyna, after several months of negotiations in which the Cadiz Provincial government’s tourist board chief aim was to facilitate the arrival of tourists from Iceland.
The airline has programmed five flights between Reykjavik Airport and Jerez Airport, above all for golfers booking their trips to the province of Cadiz through the tour operator Heimsferdir Travel.
The flights will arrive at Jerez on 24 and 31 March, 10 April and 2 and 12 May. The majority of tourists choose Novo Sancti Petri (Chiclana), as well as Costa Ballena (Rota-Chipiona), although the tour operator has also accommodated clients at hotels in Cadiz, Arcos de la Frontera, Jerez, and El Puerto de Santa Maria.
Hördur Arnarson, director of the sports department of Heimsferdir Travel, who is due to visit the province a week before the first flight, has also stated his interest in widening the company’s market to target not only golfers visiting the Costa de la Luz, but also the senior beach tourism segment, according to the Cadiz Province Tourist Board.
Icelandair will operate a Boeing 757 accommodating 183 passengers. The idea of operating flights in May is mainly due to the fact that the tour operator wants "to put the accent on a new market keyed to seniors seeking sun and relaxation." This target has traditionally chosen the Costa del Sol and the Costa Blanca, and Heimsferdir Travel now plans to promote senior tourism on the Costa de la Luz.
Alejandro Sanchez, the head of tourism and vice-president of the regional government’s Departments of Economic Growth, stated that he is very extremely satisfied with the outcome of several months of negotiations and the personal commitment of the director of Jerez Airport "to monitor all the flights, one by one, so as to facilitate the arrival of passengers, despite the fact that the flight times do not coincide with the airport’s operating schedule.
For Sanchez, the province’s economic growth "is intrinsically linked to the growth of its tourism industry, for which agreements like that with Icelandair are especially important, since they contribute to attracting tourists when the destination most needs them, before the start of the high season."
In 2011, Icelandair transported 1,774,000 passengers, an increase of 11% on results for the previous year.
