MORE than £500,000 of taxpayers’ money is to be injected into the struggling tourism industry to boost plummeting visitor numbers.
The cash will fund a major advertising campaign to target recession-hit UK residents to persuade them to book their summer holiday here. The move was announced by Economic Development Minister Alan Maclean at a Jersey Chamber of Commerce lunch yesterday – as Jersey Tourism revealed that air arrivals were down by 14 per cent in the first two months of 2009 compared with the same period last year. The fall in arrivals was described as ‘very concerning’ by the president of the Jersey Hospitality Association, Robert Jones.
Most of the cash will be spent on a new TV advertising campaign to run over the next two months. Mr Jones said that he hoped more money would be released to target the French market. ‘Jersey is 25 per cent cheaper now for European visitors than it was this time last year,’ he said.
In the UK campaign, 492 roadside posters will be displayed in the south and south-west of England as well as in the Midlands and Wales. Advertisements will also be published in national newspapers.
Pictured: Senator Maclean addresses the Jersey Chamber of Commerce at yesterday’s lunch
