Jersey Tourism is spending £250,000 on extra TV advertising in the UK after a drop in visitors.
Having been a frequent
visitor to Jersey since the days of Caledonian Princess, Earl Godwin,
Corbiere etc (and we were passengers on the last sailing of the
Havelet. It was very rough, but that is another story), it seems to
me to be rather optimistic of Jersey Tourism to hope for some
tangible return on their £250,000 TV campaign. Over the years, I
have witnessed a significant decline in visitors specifically from
the UK. I am unable to comment on the visitor numbers from Europe,
but I would imagine that the same situation applies. In my view,
there are a number of factors contributing to this decline.
The provision of
accommodation in the traditional tourist sector, the Guest House and
small hotel range has been decimated. On each visit, there have been
numerous examples of this type of accommodation disappearing from the
landscape as more and more sites are turned over to “a development
of luxury apartments” or some similar description. True, there have
been a number of new hotels built, particularly around the Waterside
development area, but these are not attractive to the family visitor.
A spokesperson being interviewed on BBC Spotlight last year, said
that the traditional Guest House and the 2 or 3 star hotels
operators, would have to accept that the mix of visitors to the
Island had changed with the family units of parents and two children
with buckets and spades being things of the past. The emphasis now
was to the business and conference visitors staying for two or three
days who demanded the highest levels of quality and service. This
could only be provided by larger more luxurious hotels.
The attraction of the
Island as a tax and duty free holiday location has also gone. At one
time, when I was still a smoker, my favourite cigarettes were roughly
one third of the price of those on the mainland. Over the years this
differential has been eroded by various measures and now, I should
imagine that there is very little if any price differential. The same
also applies to wines and spirits.
On visits to Jersey over a
period a few years ago, I was astonished to find that the cost of
filling my car in England was actually a few pence cheaper than using
petrol stations on the Island. Fortunately, this phenomenon lasted
only for a short period but even now the variation between the Jersey
price and the mainland price is very small.
The attractions for
tourists are now very limited, particularly if the weather is not
very kind. At one time, I recall the Fort regent complex providing an
all day haven with live entertainment, amusements, sports,
educational exhibits, night clubs and numerous other activities for
children, teens and adults alike. Now, the condition of the fort and
its long gone facilities, especially the state of the swimming pool
are nothing short of a disgrace and do not reflect well on the
administration. Other entertainments are now but memories and have
not been replaced by any alternative. Ceaser's Palace, now houses,
The Inn on the Park gone, The Jersey Experience formally the
Strawberry farm is now only a shadow of what it was and has it is
reported, applied for planning permission to demolish the facilities
for development as a “care home and accommodation units”, even
the Jersey Pottery will soon be completely gone. The list of lost
attractions is almost endless.
I understand that there
must be progress, but the word progress implies that there is a
direction and ultimately an objective, but I have difficulty seeing
in which direction the Island is going or where they aim to be.
It seems to me that Frank
Walker's vision of creating a Dubai type Island off the coat of
France full of exclusive hotels, rich financiers, Corporate Banks and
luxury accommodation was only ever a wishful thinking mirage, and in
pursuit of that dream the Island has fallen between stools and now
has an identity crisis of huge proportions.
The fact remains that many
hotels are lacking guests, numerous new homes remain empty,
businesses are closing and farms are almost gone. To all intents and
purposes the skills of agriculture have been irretrievably lost.
The lack of tourists in
Jersey has little to do with the weather, perhaps something to do
with the recession, but most of all it is the outcome of neglect of a
cornerstone of the Jersey economy while perusing a pipe dream. There
needs to be a rethink of objectives by the States and Tourism sooner
rather than later. In the overall scheme of things another £250,000
is a drop in the ocean in comparison to the money already wasted on
what may turn out to be a lost cause.
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