'Make or break' year for hospitality and tourism

This year has to be a make or break year for tourism and hospitality in Jersey, industry leaders have said.

At their Trade Talk lunch, heads of the Jersey Hospitality Association (JHA) said the Bergerac reboot, potential investment in new air routes and a new ferry operator could attract more visitors to the island.

However, chair of the JHA Malcolm Lewis said "getting the government on board" would be the biggest challenge for industry success.

Sustainable Economic Development Minister Deputy Kirsten Morel said the government had not spent enough on tourism in previous years and he wanted to help businesses invest in themselves.

Mr Lewis said the opportunities for growth in tourism and hospitality were "tremendous".

He said DFDS, which will start sailing to the island next month, had committed significant marketing resources for the holiday season and a team from Jersey was currently in Germany and Switzerland advertising the island as a tourism destination to tour operators and travel agents.

He said the experts from Visit Jersey, Ports of Jersey and local hotels were discussing the possibility of direct flights to Germany and Switzerland.

"That alone could have a huge impact for this coming season," he said.

Guest speaker at the JHA lunch and former politician Ben Shenton said 2025 would be a make or break year for the island.

"We've been in decline for many years... we need to do change and we need to take pride in what we do," he said.

He said the island should become an attractive holiday destination for older tourists to capitalise on the increased travel spending of baby boomers.

He said: "Baby boomers spend three times more than younger generations on travel, they want safe destinations, they want tidy destinations, they want quality of service - Jersey can offer all that."

Co-chief executive of the JHA Ana Calvani said this year has to be the moment where the greater economy aligns and works together to build its future.

She said many people underestimate the value of hospitality to the economic success of the island.

She said: "Hospitality equals quality of life... the amount of times that as a family you go out, you enjoy restaurants, hotels, go into attractions and recreations on the island, getting on and off the island - this is all us, this is all hospitality.

"If we don't look after it... it will just purely result in a lesser quality of life."

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