Sponsored Content
In the second instalment of the Visit Jersey series, ‘Together for Tourism’, showcasing the opportunities for this key Island industry, Matt Thomas, chief executive of Ports of Jersey, explains why the organisation is celebrating a key milestone this week
THIS is a really exciting week for Ports of Jersey, as this weekend will see the inaugural flight of easyJet’s first scheduled European service from the Island.
Saturday’s flight to Amsterdam demonstrates the confidence our airline partners have in Jersey, and represents a great opportunity to expand our visitor economy while also widening travel options for Islanders.
EasyJet’s new route joins its existing services to London Gatwick, Luton, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow, as well as summer routes to Edinburgh and Belfast.
This is a major milestone for Jersey’s connectivity, providing direct access for Islanders to another global travel hub, as well as to one of Europe’s coolest cities. We have been working hard to expand Jersey’s connectivity with mainland Europe. Our Island enjoys really good links to the UK, but the great opportunity is to grow connectivity into Europe. The Amsterdam route will not only strengthen connections for Islanders but it will also expand the opportunities for continental visitors wishing to visit our Island.
Attracting inbound visitors is key to the success of our air routes. There are only so many times a population of 100,000 can be expected to use each route, so for our routes to be sustainable we need visitors from larger population centres to come to Jersey. It is this which will maintain and build on the connectivity we have worked hard to achieve.
Recovery
Last year was one of recovery for us. After redeploying up to a third of our amazing employees to help the Covid response, with firefighters driving ambulances, security officers helping with customer care at the Hospital, and our customer service team supporting the Covid Helpline, we are now enjoying a strong recovery in Jersey’s connectivity.
In fact, our Airport has experienced the fourth-fastest recovery of all airports in the UK and, despite the collapse of Flybe, Jersey’s passenger numbers returned to 77% of pre-pandemic levels in 2022, an increase of 97% on the previous year.
We are reaping the benefits of our efforts during the pandemic when we worked in close partnership with airlines to secure the resilience of our air links.
Airline partners
We have reached a five-year agreement with easyJet, which will see them base an aircraft in Jersey overnight. This will provide Jersey customers with a daily early departure to Gatwick, offering more travel options and a growing network of European transport connections which will improve resilience, expand choice for consumers and facilitate new opportunities for business.
Our five-year agreement with British Airways is projected to carry more than two million passengers between Jersey and British Airways’ global hub in Heathrow, and to deliver growth in GDP of £123 million per year by 2025, supporting 1,200 jobs. This is a huge step in developing Jersey’s strategic connectivity.
We will continue to work in close partnership with our carriers, to seize opportunities and to manage risk. We are confident of further growth in 2023 and anticipate that our passenger numbers will rise to above pre-pandemic levels in 2024, giving Islanders access to the rest of the world and bringing benefits for our business and tourism sectors.
The pandemic shone a light on the critical importance of secure connectivity for Islanders and our economy.
We are very proud to have secured the resilience of our air links and we now have an opportunity to deliver further growth in connectivity, opening up links into Europe that will support the recovery of our economy, providing more choice for Islanders and enabling a bright future for our visitor economy.
But we cannot be complacent. Our airline partners have shown real confidence in the potential to grow in Jersey but, ultimately, they are commercial businesses. The airlines will continue to invest for as long as flying to Jersey is profitable.
In many ways, the really hard work lies ahead. Jersey is an amazing destination to visit, but we need to look to the future and the changing demands of tomorrow’s travellers.
We need to nurture and care for our visitor economy to help it to grow. We need to unlock investment to give visitors more choice over where they can stay. We need to provide incredible value for money, and we need to be much more ambitious in promoting our Island internationally.
Airport and Harbour investment
At Ports of Jersey, we are certainly looking to play our part. The Airport and Harbour require continual capital investment to remain safe, to meet changing technical and community requirements and to provide an excellent passenger experience, as the ports provide the first and the last impressions of our Island.
Our major project, the Harbour Master Plan, proposes the biggest capital investment since our incorporation in 2015. It includes plans to regenerate and transform the Harbour, to modernise ageing infrastructure and to create a vibrant Waterfront of which we can all be proud.
We will link with the government’s regeneration plans, bringing St Helier and the Harbour together, investing in our public realm and providing opportunities for the development of cultural destinations. And we are delivering these plans while being entirely self-financing and without creating a burden on taxpayers.
At the same time, we are developing plans for the Airport which capture the spirit and identity of our Island, harnessing new digital technologies which improve efficiency and enable faster, easier and friendlier travel experiences.
We are also very excited about the opportunities generated by moving to a sustainable, decarbonised future. Jersey has all the necessary ingredients to be at the forefront of introducing new aircraft types, technologies and fuels. We are working with Universal Hydrogen and Blue Islands to trial the use of hydrogen as an alternative, fully decarbonised aviation fuel. We are working with marine hydrogen accelerator, OceansLab, to investigate the possibility of using hydrogen as a fuel for our next harbour tugboat.
We want to position Jersey as an incubator for next-generation aviation and maritime technologies, which will ultimately see the Island taking a leading position in sustainable travel within the UK and Europe.
Tourism industry
Our Island has so much to offer visitors. There is a huge variety of beautiful landscapes and outdoor activities, all in close proximity.
We offer a diverse range of restaurants, a unique heritage and fascinating history.
Tourism plays a critical role for the Island. Not only is it a valuable industry which employs people, supports the hospitality sector and contributes to the economy but it also helps maintain the air and sea routes to which we have become accustomed. Jersey businesses – airlines, ferry companies, hotels, restaurants and attractions – all benefit from the wider customer base that visitors provide. It is up to all of us to value our guests and to recognise the crucial role the visitor economy plays in our way of life.
Ports of Jersey is investing in Jersey’s future for both Islanders and visitors by transforming our Harbour, safeguarding air routes and providing the infrastructure that meets the needs of 21st-century travellers.
We feel incredibly privileged to be in a position where we can make a difference. We are very proud to serve our community and we are committed to working with local organisations and businesses to enhance Island life.
