Swan Hellenic Vega – SH Vega, a British cruise line with 115 tourists on board, docks at the Freeport of Monrovia on Monday morning at 7:30 a.m. giving a significant boost to Liberia’s new tourism industry. It is the first since 2012 when the National Geographic Explorer Cruise ship came to post-war Liberia.
The Liberia National Tourism Association (LINTA), headed by Mai Bright-Urey, the main umbrella group of private sector tourism stakeholders in Liberia, organized SH Vega’s travel to Monrovia.
Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism, Jerolinmek Matthew Piah, will welcome SH Vega on behalf of the Government of Liberia (GOL). The Mayor of Monrovia, John-Charuk S. Siafa, will customarily present the “Key of Monrovia” to the tourists.
Minister Piah said the coming of the cruise ship amplifies His Excellency President Joseph Boakai’s vision to have a viable tourism industry as part of the Government of Liberia’s A.R.R.E.S.T Agenda (agriculture, roads, rule of law, education, sanitation and tourism) for sustainable development.
He said Liberia has huge potentials for amazing eco, adventure, wildlife, coastal and marine tourism that will be unlocked through private sector participation.
SH Vega Cruise tourists will visit historical sites in Monrovia (Providence Island, Providence Baptist Church, Ducor Hill, and the National Museum, Unity Park among others) and Marshall (Libassa Ecolodge).