Keith Beecham, the chief executive of Visit Jersey, said that after a successful NatWest Island Games week the tourism sector had made an excellent start to the year – but it needed a clear, compelling marketing image to achieve further growth.
Mr Beecham told a business group yesterday that after several months in the job there was still no consensus about how to portray ‘Jerseyness’ to potential visitors, or convey why they should come here.
Speaking to a sell-out audience at the monthly Jersey Chamber of Commerce lunch, Mr Beecham said staying visitors over the first four months of the year were up 13% – the best since 2010 – with Airport arrivals promising to be the highest since 2008.
‘I am confident that tourism will grow this year, compared to 2014,’ he said, ‘but staying leisure visitor numbers have halved over the past 18 years – so how do we keep growing?’
Strategies already in focus included using social media and going to where the customers were online. Nevertheless, in order to compete, Jersey needed to convince visitors about why they should come to the Island, he said.
‘We need to give strong reasons for coming to events – last week at the Island Games was fantastic, but we have a collective responsibility to provide compelling experiences.’
Mr Beecham said the results of a stakeholder survey carried out in May had been inconclusive. ‘From my point of view, a number were saying we need more high-end tourists, whereas others said we need to keep costs down for middle- and lower-income visitors. Some said that events were the way forward, but others said no, because of the lack of infrastructure. There is no concensus about what the plan should look like.’
The chief executive said that a consultation document on a Jersey destination strategy would be put out in September, asking for comments on over 20 recommendations.
He told businesses that in terms of market development, there was opportunity for bolt-on visits from long-haul passengers visiting the UK from places like China and the US, particularly as there was no passenger transfer tax from Jersey.
And with thousands of Americans visiting the Normandy landing beaches every year, it should be possible to offer them some Second World War content from Jersey, too, he suggested.
Potential shortfalls included lack of skills in hospitality, as well as lower standards of access for older tourists. ‘Visitors from Europe and the UK expect certain standards, for instance coach companies and hotels, and we do not have those standards – with an ageing population, these need to be built in to our products,’ he said.
Asked why the NatWest Island Games had not been featured on national sports channels, he said: ‘It is probably because we do not know what we want to say about Jersey yet. I have heard a lot of opinions, but we have got to find some new markets and describe what is Jerseyness, how we talk about Jersey. It is a challenge to come up with a proposition.
‘We are talking to visitors and non-visitors and we need to work harder with the media in those destinations.’
St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft: ‘I was very encouraged by what I heard. I think it is very important to refocus tourism on the digital media and I like what was said about ‘we will come to you’, instead of waiting for people to pick up a brochure. And I agree completely about extending the markets – I’ve just come back from Normandy with the veterans, and I think it is vital that people take the next step to Jersey, from St Malo or Mont St Michel. And our food is one of the best kept secrets and we can do more.
Chamber member Ray Shead: ‘Mr Beecham has set himself one hell of an agenda. It was interesting to get an outsider’s perception of life in the Island. I wish him every success.’
