Over the weekend, the company made a number of cancellations and delays to its services after the fleet’s flagship vessel experienced technical problems.
Following the launch by Economic Minister Lyndon Farnham of an urgent review into the service agreement with Condor, head of Visit Jersey Keith Beecham told the JEP that every time the boat was cancelled the financial cost to the tourism industry was ‘significant’.
He added that several UK tour operators had expressed their concerns about the latest disruption to the service.
‘We normally expect 10,000 staying leisure visitors to come by the sea in September as it is a very busy month.
‘Not all of them will be coming from England, but it is our largest market,’ Mr Beecham said.
‘From our statistics, we know these people spend £482 a day while they are in the Island, so on average, with every cancelled sailing the industry will be losing tens of thousands of pounds.
‘The second impact is reputational and I think that is the longer lasting and potentially more concerning factor.
‘UK tour operators that I have been talking to are showing levels of concern that I have not experienced previously.’
Mr Beecham said that Visit Jersey wanted to work with Condor to ‘help get some robust contingency plans in place’.
He added: ‘I think a review of some sort is called for at this stage.
‘The Economic Development Minister has called for a comprehensive review to be brought forward and we would very much support that.’
Mr Beecham’s comments come after an event held by the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, at which Steve Champion-Smith, executive director of Condor Freight, said that the company wanted to hear views on current schedules.
Mr Champion-Smith explained that the company is preparing a questionnaire for Islanders in order to understand their expectations on timings and frequency, following criticism of the reliability of the Liberation fast ferry and also service times.
Following issues with the Liberation’s exhaust system passengers faced delays and cancellations over the weekend.
On Sunday, Dorset police were called to Poole harbour to deal with a group of irate passengers due to sail to Jersey as anger boiled over.
And in Jersey and Guernsey large queues formed outside the harbour terminal buildings as angry passengers – many of whom had been ejected from their hotel rooms – demanded answers. Condor apologised for the disruption and paid for accommodation for those affected.
Hundreds of visitors were finally able to sail back to the UK on Monday.
Among those who returned last night was Burt Winzar, who was part of the South End Mini-Action group, which brought seven vehicles to Jersey.
Mr Winzar said that the group should have gone back on Saturday and that some of the members had lost two days’ wages because of the cancellation.
‘We really did not expect our trip to be extended,’ the 68-year-old said.
‘It’s not been a wonderful situation as lots of us are losing money because the ferry is not running.
‘I can’t say too many good things about Condor – I don’t think the service has been very good at all.’
The Liberation is scheduled to return to full service on Thursday.
IT would be easy this morning to put the boot into a wounded and bloodied Condor.
The ferry company has had the weekend from hell as pent-up frustration spilled over into anger when the announcement that technical problems with the Liberation, coupled with the Clipper being in dry dock, led to disruption on routes to the UK and France.
An avalanche of complaints voiced on social media over the past 72 hours was extraordinary, even for a company which has been a popular punch bag for several years.
There are in Jersey a number of firms and organisations which are routinely vilified with and without justification, but over the weekend Condor was at the heart of a storm of its own making.
Police were called in Poole as passengers made their feelings clear after being told the overbooked Liberation was leaving without them.
In Jersey, those waiting in long queues at Elizabeth Terminal spoke of very poor communication and a lack of information.
It was the same story in Guernsey.
As reported on Friday, Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham has called for an urgent review of the service agreement between the States and Condor.
Over the weekend, he said that the Channel Islands ‘deserved far better than they are getting right now’ and that the way Condor was dealing with the situation was ‘unacceptable’.
Whether a failure of the States or Condor – or both – the inadequacy of current contingency plans for problems with a one-fast-ferry strategy has been laid bare.
What people really want is an affordable ferry service which runs to schedule.
History has shown that such apparently simple demands are not as easy to achieve as they might be.
Weather and mechanical problems have played havoc with timings.
And while brief spells of competition on the southern route have reduced prices, no one has created a sustainable rival business.
Condor have invested £50 million in the ill-fated Liberation and shown a commitment to the route, but ministers in both islands must now work together constructively to find a solution before efforts to re-energise the tourism industry are derailed.
There will be no easy answers, but Senator Farnham should now follow through with the expectation he has created for change.
This storm will pass, but when it does he must not let up on making the unacceptable acceptable.
A failure to act now will leave Islanders feeling let down and in the dark – again.
