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Let’s transform tourism dream into a target
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True the figures for November and December would have to be very poor for the industry to break that particular barrier, but at the end of October gross arrivals at the ports were just 967,131. That’s down 4.6% on the previous year when gross arrivals at that time were 1,013,873. Just 80,959 passengers arrived during October, compared to 95,820 in October 2011.
Breaking down the figures shows that the number of staying leisure visitors also totalled just 304,346 up to the end of October This compares with 316,520 at the end of October, 2011, and 315,250 at the end of October 2012.
The tourism department had already warned us that numbers would be down this year because of ‘the net effect of poor weather and the Olympics and Jubilee events impacting on people’s holiday decisions’. They haven’t yet told us why this should affect the October figures when UK travellers were presumably not still watching the Olympics or the Jubilee activities. So perhaps there’s another reason – perhaps numbers are down because we haven’t put enough money or effort into our second most important industry.
You certainly can’t complain about the amount of time spent talking about it and drawing up plans to revive tourism. Hardly a day goes by that we don’t have another cunning plan, a new tourism strategy or a proposed new structure for the industry. Only the results are lacking.
So the figures graphically show that we are failing to meet the four primary objectives of the tourism strategy – to develop Jersey into a year-round staying leisure visitor economy; to increase the value generated from the staying leisure visitor economy; to increase the number of locals employed in the Tourism sector; and to maximise the investment made into the staying leisure visitor economy.
While you can’t judge the year by performance in just one or two months, all the evidence suggests that we are still not generating a lot of business outside of the key tourism season. We are no closer to a year-round destination than we were years ago. We haven’t seen any recent figures, but I would also be surprised if we are generating more value from our falling number of tourists.
The priority to increase the number of locals working in the industry is not much more than a joke, I’m afraid. And I simply don’t know if those who have invested in the staying leisure visitor economy are achieving good returns, but I suspect that a few are, while most aren’t.
The tourism department seems quite confident that we’re going in the right direction, but I assume that trying to boost confidence is part of their job. They describe it as a credit to the industry and to the department, that the number of staying leisure visitors and visitor spend has ‘remained largely consistent’, despite worldwide economic conditions over the last three years. So is bumping along the bottom all that we can expect?
Certainly the department itself is hoping for better things, even to the point that they are prepared to sacrifice their own jobs. They subscribe to the view – or at least their Minister does – that their function is better performed by a private sector organisation who would have a finger much more on the pulse.
Attempts have already been made to shift the responsibility from public servants to a public/private partnership, but that failed when the industry realised that they weren’t just going to be handed taxpayers’ money on a plate. The latest attempt is coming up again next month when the ‘middle way’ will be proposed through the setting up of a Shadow Board of industry experts. That won’t have the costs of a PPP but will still guide the Island’s marketing and promotional efforts.
All I can say to that proposition is fine, but please just get on with it. We’ve wasted enough time on useless reports and prevarication. If our political masters think that a Shadow Board will work, then let them have their Shadow Board.
I personally don’t think it will make much practical difference and indeed there are two dangers in this proposal. The first is that the Shadow Board will simply consist of the usual suspects who already have a great deal of influence in the industry. Their views are already taken into account, perhaps too much at times. The Jersey Hospitality Association, for example, has a lot of clout which is as it should be, but it’s not the sole source of new ideas.
The second is that whatever type of organisation is created, both the private and the public sectors will have to have an input and work together. That is where Jersey has an advantage – we’re small enough to work together. The danger in creating an organisation solely focused on the private sector, is that the whole strategy will be dictated by a few hoteliers or travel experts. Someone has got to think about the industry and the island as a whole, not just represent sectional interests.
This would obviously be the Minister’s role, but that’s what he does already, so where is the need to change the structure? The industry is listened to now, the public servants have a role to play which is not purely commercial, and the two have to work together for the good of the Island. Over all this sits the Minister who represents the public interest. How is changing the structure going to be an improvement?
Anyhow, as I say, if the politicians think it’s a good idea, so let them get on with it, just so long as it does not deflect attention away from the primary objective, which should be to rejuvenate the tourism industry.
This might be easier than the complexities of the reorganisation would make it appear. Perhaps all that is needed is more confidence and more investment, both public and private.
The public investment will come when the States fulfil their long-delayed promise to help the industry. More private investment will follow from that and from a willingness to adopt new ideas. The result of that will be an industry able to offer careers and not just temporary jobs for young islanders.
That might seem like an impossible dream to some, but if you continue to have confidence in Jersey as an attractive destination that many visitors would like to visit, then it’s not just a dream- it’s a target.
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