Peter Funk, the chairman of the Tourism Development Fund (TDF), which helped fund the Island Games, the Folklore Festival and Jersey International Motoring Festival this year, has said it has not been allocated a budget for 2016 and its future lies in the hands of Jersey’s politicians.
The TDF, which provides grants to organisations in the Island involved in the tourism industry, received a budget of £500,000 per year from the States from 2013 to 2015.
But the projected £145 million deficit in Jersey’s finances by 2019 saw a raft of measures being proposed to help cut costs – outlined in the Medium Term Financial plan last week – and there was no specific allocation of funding for the TDF.
The TDF has £174,061 left for new projects and, at the last meeting of the panel, members decided that this was not enough for them to consider their usual round of grant applications in the autumn.
‘The facts are that we have been given a budget for 2015 but we have not been given a budget for 2016,’ said TDF chairman Peter Funk.
‘Previously we have been given a budget of £500,000 a year and the question now is will we be getting that – or anything – again?
That is a political decision to be made. At the moment we have not been given a definitive answer.’
Mr Funk added that if the TDF does not receive an allocation of funding each year he thinks it would be appropriate to dissolve it.
Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham expressed concern over the uncertainty of the future of the TDF, which he said he was ‘determined to keep going’.
He said: ‘There’s no allocation in the MTFP for the Tourism Development Fund but we do have a significant budget in Economic Development Department and we may use that.
‘In the MTFP there is also an allocation of £20 million set aside for economic growth and I hope some of that can be used for the Tourism Development Fund.’
‘We are determined to keep the TDF going.
‘There won’t be large sums like there was, but we will do what we can.
It is very important to support new tourism projects which will bring new visitors to the Island.’
The senator added that decisions made in the MTFP had been difficult and he would like the TDF to ‘broaden its remit’ and focus on events as well as tourism.
The TDF saw a record number of applications for grants last year, following the approval by the States in 2012 for it to be able to support private-sector projects, as well as those from the public and charitable sectors.
It received applications from more than 59 organisations requesting over £4.3 million, and eventually awarded grants to 20 of them, including to seven private-sector entities for a total of £538,500, and 13 non-profit organisations totalling £290,756.
Beneficiaries of the grants included Jersey Race Club (£6,000), the Island Games Organising Committee (£70,000), the Jersey War Tunnels (£30,000), the Folklore Festival organisers (£35,000), the Jersey International Motoring Festival (£67,816) and La Hougue Farms Ltd (£300,000).
- The Tourism Development fund supports organisations through investing in events, projects and marketing activity that will attract visitors to Jersey and stimulate the Tourism Industry.
- It was established by the States of Jersey in 2004 to encourage and support tourism in the Island.
- Over the years the Fund has made over 115 grants totalling in excess of £5.6 million in support of many successful events, projects and infrastructure developments covering the spectrum of tourism initiatives.
- The Fund is overseen by the Tourism Development Fund Advisory Panel, made up of members of the private sector.
- Panel chairman, Peter Funk, said: ‘Tourism is vital to our economy and the role of the Tourism Development Fund is to support the industry. The Panel are delighted that we are able to consider applications from private as well as non-profit organisations or individuals with good ideas that will bring more visitors to Jersey and improve our already rich Tourism offering.’
- The Fund is open for applications twice a year, in Spring and Autumn.
- Organisations wishing to apply to the Fund should be able to demonstrate that their events or projects have the potential to bring more visitors to the Island, in particular in the shoulder months, to attract additional funding from other sources, to create jobs locally and to be sustainable in years to come.
