IT'S one of the world's most remote civilisations - and you'd think it has very little in common with Southampton.

But one tourism expert is hoping to bring a taste of her home city to the Atlantic island of St Helena - opening up a whole new world of opportunity to its locals.

Gill Heighington is travelling 8,000 miles to the remote stretch of land where she will prepare locals for a tourism boom expected to take off once the airport is finished in four years' time.

Having just finished working on a tourism drive in her home city, she is now preparing for the daunting prospect of instilling her enthusiasm in the 4,000 residents of St Helena - known as Saints - who have had almost no contact with tourists.

Gill will soon be starting a blog with dailyecho.co.uk

As Tourism South East training manager she has been working with hotel managers, taxi drivers and other people who meet the tourists who flood into Southampton on cruise ships.

Working with Gill, many have improved their customer service skills and local knowledge as part of the Southampton Welcomes initiative which ended last month.

Gill said: "The project has worked really well in Southampton and helped the city become much more welcoming and I'm hoping to help the people who live in St Helena greet tourists in the same way.

"In Southampton we focused on customer service, local knowledge and what the city has to offer.

"Often you don't realise just how much goes on where you live unless you look at it with fresh eyes.

"Many of the people I worked with were left with a new sense of pride in their city."

She left on Wednesday and will be helping business owners and residents of the island, which is midway between Africa and South America, understand what will attract tourists and improve their customer service skills.

She will also be training managers so her work can continue after she has left.

She said: "It is taking me ten days to get to St Helena and back. As it is so difficult to get there it has had very few tourists but with the new airport this will soon be changing so we have adapted what we did in Southampton for St Helena.

"I'm looking forward to the exciting new adventure."

It is hoped the airport will improve the island's flagging economy.

On her journey she plans to give a copy of the Daily Echo to the editor of the St Helena Herald.