PUTTING Jersey on screen could be the answer to putting tourists on the Rock.
While the number of visitors to our shores has dwindled since the heydays of the 70s and 80s, Visit Jersey is hopeful that recent attempts to showcase the “gem of the sea” in popular TV shows could revitalise the industry.
Such theories were put to the test on Thursday, when the 15 remaining candidates on the BBC’s The Apprentice came to Jersey to undertake a discount-buying task.
Millions tuned in to watch the business hopefuls search high and low for surfboards and freshly shucked oysters, resulting in a 215% increase in visitors to Jersey.com while the episode aired.
The JEP has learned that as a result of the episode, there have been over 4,000 referrals from that website to local tourism and hospitality businesses – which could translate into thousands of bookings.
And video clips showcasing the Island have been shared across the BBC’s social media channels, which are followed by nearly 34 million people.
Similar spikes occurred last year, when Jersey and Guernsey featured in a Channel 5 documentary series, leading to a 42% increase in holiday bookings with one travel provider.
Tricia Warwick, who has been chief executive of Visit Jersey for nearly a year, said that so-called “set-jetting” was “one of the most powerful drivers of tourism” and that the portrayal of Jersey in Thursday’s episode of The Apprentice was “genuine, authentic promotion that money can’t buy”.
She continued: “The Island looked stunning, the weather was on our side, it showed how much you can pack in such a short space of time, from markets to green lanes to cows.
“As someone who has worked a whole career in marketing in the tourism industry, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Ms Warwick added: “Island pride is a huge part of this, and we saw that in the buzz in the build-up to the episode.
“That pride is, I’m told, what we used to have back in the Bergerac days, when tourism was booming.
“Islanders are our biggest PR agency, and if we can get everybody talking up Jersey, then the only way is up.”
What is “set-jetting”?
A play on “jet-setting”, “set-jetting” involves travellers flocking to locations used in movies and television series.
While it is not a new trend, it is certainly trending – surging in 2023 and the phenomenon appears set to dominate 2024.
Fantasy adventure TV series Game of Thrones, for example, has contributed an estimated £110m to the Northern Ireland economy since the location was used for filming throughout the 2010s.
The 2023 Global Travel Trends Report by American Express found that 70% of Gen-Zs (people born between the mid-1990s and mid-2010s) and Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) seek travel inspiration from movies or television.
In Expedia’s recent survey of 20,000 travellers, one in four responded that seeing somewhere on screen was more influential on their travel plans than ever before.
First-timers
Ms Warwick said the goal of “set-jetting” was to attract people who had never been to Jersey before.
Our strength, she explained, is people returning to the Island, as reflected in our high “Net Promoter Score”, which measures how likely departing passengers are to recommend a visit.
Following The Apprentice episode, she said that Visit Jersey would be targeting areas with higher numbers of viewers with more advertising – “something you wouldn’t be able to do 15 to 25 years ago”, she said.
Before the episode, her teams were busy preparing a digital campaign, an “Apprentice landing page” on Jersey.com, along with an Apprentice-inspired itinerary to encourage “set-jetting” to the Island.
Ms Warwick said: “If we can get people here for one trip, then not only do those people return, but they tell their friends and family and colleagues and there is nothing more powerful than the word of mouth.
“You can actually measure the difference in visitors and spend in the economy before the programme, during the programme and after. This is very measurable and tangible.”
Visit Jersey confirmed that the most popular page visited on their website during that spike was “How to get to Jersey”, suggesting that the show had reached people who had not been here before.
Negotiating the deal
Ms Warwick said that Visit Jersey works closely with a PR agency in the UK, and one of their goals was getting the right television programmes to film in the Island.
This agency, she said, were scouting all the time in the market for whatever shows are on offer, working closely with independent production companies and channels such as the BBC and ITV.
Early in 2023, the agency informed Visit Jersey that The Apprentice had placed the Island on their “consideration list” for an episode.
And not just any episode, Ms Warwick said, but “Lord [Alan] Sugar’s favourite episode”, which features the discount-buying challenge.
She said that there were two clear reasons that the showrunners had, in the end, chosen Jersey.
“First, the show has never been to Jersey before, so it was something new, and second, we presented a great compact space for them to do the episode in,” Ms Warwick explained.
The episode was filmed over a week around Liberation Day last year, and Ms Warwick added that the good spring weather and proximity to the UK all helped.
While Visit Jersey does not “pay” for the episode per se, they paid for travel, hotels, and food, which she said all filtered back into benefitting the local economy.
Turning views into bookings
Robert Mackenzie, managing director of CI Travel Group, said he watched the episode with interest.
Once viewers have browsed Visit Jersey’s website, they can head to sites such as Mr Mackenzie’s to book their trip.
He said: “This trend goes back to the days of Bergerac, which was absolutely a key factor in driving the growth of tourism in the 70s and 80s.
“There are now countless examples of locations being used in films that have resulted in a growth in interest and people travelling to those destinations.
“Clearly it is getting more focus now, as tourism destination marketing organisations look at what is the most cost-effective way of getting publicity for the destination.
“To have The Apprentice, a prime-time show on BBC One, to feature the Island in such a prominent way is extremely effective and will no doubt raise interest in the Island.”
Yesterday morning, Mr Mackenzie said that while it was too early to measure sales, their website had seen “a significant spike in visits” while the programme aired.
“We expect that to continue through today and over the weekend,” he added.
He also said that the “acid test” on its effectiveness would be “turning that interest and desire to come into bookings”.
Is “set-jetting” the future of tourism?
Ms Warwick is hopeful that “this is just the beginning”.
“Set-jetting is definitely a trend that will only increase, and it’s on our radar to proactively chase down this trend. We absolutely recognise the value of it,” she said.
“I’d love to get something like Bergerac back. That would be the golden ticket, because a show like that, if successful, if it’s multi-episode and runs for seasons, potentially for years, would showcase Jersey for all that time. Recurring shows like that are the gift that keeps on giving.
“We are so excited about getting Jersey back on the map for tourists and visitors. We’ve got something very special here, and the opportunity is enormous. This jewel in the crown needs elevating.”
