Officials have called for renewed efforts to boost tourist trade in Jersey after the Channel Island recorded a drop in visitor numbers. Some of the decline can be linked to a changeover in ferry providers, with the number of tourists arriving by boat dropping by a third between January and March as operations were handed from Brittany Ferries to Danish firm DFDS.
But it seems more still needs to be done to attract UK visitors to the sunniest spot in the British Isles, tourism bosses have said, including through modernising its hospitality sector. Kirsten Morel, sustainable economic development minister for Jersey, also pointed to delays and cancellations from the regional airline Blue Islands and a lack of awareness among Brits of the island’s various attractions as the reasons behind the plateau. “We need a level of modernisation across our industry on attractions, hotels, marketing, across the board,” he told ITV. “We have the right natural aspects to our heritage which are highly sellable but we do need to modernise the way people interact with them.”
“Flat air figures are disappinting, as we were hoping to see increases,” the minister said. “We want air transport that we can rely on, that passengers feel will leave and arrive on time and won’t be cancelled.
“What we’ve seen in the past few months has had an impact. I’ve spoken to the airlines involved and they’ve assured me that we should see that stop as we go through June.”
The beautiful island, which earned its reputation as the sunniest place in the British Isles thanks to its southerly and sheltered location, will also soon benefit from a five-year deal with budget airline Jet2, potentially expanding its tourist reach far beyond the UK – with the potential for direct flights to major cities including Paris.
Another saving grace in the holiday spot’s popularity has been the recent announcement of UKTV’s six-part remake of Bergerac, the detective series which put Jersey on the map in the 1980s.
“What’s really important is people are looking at Jersey and see a buzz here,” Kirsten Morel added.
“The proof of that is we have five applications for hotels and self-catering businesses, which include international brands and that’s a huge vote of confidence.
“It’s been a soft start to the year, but one we can definitely build on.”