The 47 delegates represented firms from Normandy’s tourism sector and included hoteliers and restaurateurs, proprietors of camp sites, a cider factory and a biscuit factory, and an educational farm.
During their day-long visit, organised by la Maison de la Normandie in Jersey, they took part in a meeting with the Tourism Department and Jersey operators I-Travel and Bontour, followed by lunch at the Salty Dog restaurant in St Aubin and an afternoon visit to La Mare Vineyards.
Kevin Lemasney, Tourism’s policy and strategy executive, explained the changes in Jersey’s government structure, the role of tourism within the Economic Development Department and the States’ objective to grow the economy by two per cent per annum.
Mr Lemasney said that recent research had shown that visitors to Jersey and Guernsey were more interested in visiting France during their holiday than they were in visiting one of the other Channel Islands.
However, several of the visitors commented on the difficulty of travelling to and from Normandy during the winter months, particularly if the weather was prohibitive or there were technical problems with vessels on the route.
Mr Lemasney was asked why Jersey’s government was not running a regular service to Normandy and replied that this was not part of the economic plan.
