Jersey:
New Destination Plan seeks to fill hotel
rooms in peak season In our Nov/Dec issue last year (#23), we looked at the changing landscape of tourism to Jersey, and how this has affected the island’s hospitality industry. The new public-private tourism body, VisitJersey, appointed a CEO earlier this year: Keith Beecham (right), previously acting CEO of VisitBritain). HT spoke to Beecham about the Destination Plan for 2016-2020 that he has now unveiled for consultation.
After an early career in marketing in international finance, Beecham joined VisitBritain working in Japan and Hong Kong as well as London. He has, for the last five years, been responsible for VisitBritain’s global business, trade marketing including product development and VisitBritain’s commercial business. He is also a non- executive board member of UKinbound.
On his appointment, Beecham said: “This is a really exciting opportunity to grow tourism in Jersey. The Board of Visit Jersey is determined to forge a new deal for tourism and I look forward to working with government and private sector partners to ensure we deliver growth for Jersey.”
Between 1992 and 2014 Jersey witnessed a marked decline in accommodation stock: the number of bed spaces available has diminished by 53% from 24,770 to 11,554.
Hotels now account for 75% of all rooms on the island compared with 68% in 1992. Guest Houses now represent just 8% of all bed spaces, down from 17%. The average room occupancy during 2014 was 63%.
VisitJersey has a vision for a “vibrant sustainable tourism industry in Jersey whose contribution to the economy and community at large is widely recognised”.
Its specific targets are:
• To attract 1 million visitors to Jersey before 2030;
• To achieve future ‘visitor spend’ of £500m per annum;
• To ensure occupancy levels of 95% in the peak season
VisitJersey Chairman John Henwood said its aim was “to revitalise what was once Jersey’s most important industry”.
The Destination Plan proposes four drivers of tourism growth which will be pursued:
1) Market development agree who are the best prospects to increase volume & value of the Jersey visitor economy
2) Image development develop and promote “reasons to visit” Jersey
3) Access development make it easier to get to and around Jersey
4) Destination development create, package and deliver compelling experiences
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