Minister urges Jersey's tourism sector to modernise following 'disappointing' visitor figures

Jersey must modernise its tourism sector to bring back visitors, that is the stark warning from the island's Sustainable Economic Development Minister.
Deputy Kirsten Morel believes the industry is going through a changeover period - the latest official statistics for the first three months of this year show the number of travellers arriving through Elizabeth Harbour dropped by nearly a third, while air passenger levels were stagnant.
He explains: "Flat air figures are disappointing as we were hoping to see increases. On the sea figures, it's not surprising we're seeing a temporary transition as the two ferry companies switched over.
"We need a level of modernisation across our industry on attractions, hotels, marketing, across the board. 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."
Tricia Warwick, Chief Executive of Visit Jersey, agrees and wants the island to be bolder in promoting events that can have a wider appeal.
She says: "We have some great community events, Battle of Flowers and the Air Show, but they're not big enough reasons for people to visit Jersey. We need to get on that map with some annual events, I think we could take the Jersey Marathon on the road internationally and we could own a really exciting food festival.
"We are down compared to where we would like to be. When you look at other destinations that rely a lot on the UK market, Ireland is 9% down from UK visitors and that's a big market for them, so this is not a lone position for Jersey.
"We have other issues around airlines, ferries, transition etc but the market is tough out there, it's really competitive."
Deputy Morel adds that more recent sea passenger numbers appear to have recovered since the changeover from Brittany Ferries to DFDS was completed in late March, while he has had discussions with the airline Blue Islands about their recent delays and cancellations.
He says: "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.
"As we head into the high season, which is the important part, I'm hopeful that we've got the air transport on a steady footing."
Tricia also highlights the importance of reliable travel links.
She explains: "That transition from Brittany to DFDS has, of course, caused a problem and now we're having to combat that with offers and marketing to readdress the balance going forward."
Tricia says there are opportunities to build Jersey as a vibrant destination through private and public funding, with the new owners of the War Tunnels looking to upgrade their facilities and £110 million plans to develop Fort Regent.
Deputy Morel adds: "What's really important is people are looking at Jersey and see a buzz here. 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.
"The opportunity's here, we will deliver on that in the medium to long term, what we also need to do is make sure that this year works for our hoteliers. It's been a soft start to the year but one we can definitely build on."
The Ports of Jersey has also just signed a new five-year deal with airline Jet2, with direct flights to Paris expected soon.

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