Next month the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is due to be released in cinemas across the country. It tells the story of a woman who falls in love with the island in the aftermath the German Occupation.
Keith Beecham, chief executive of Visit Jersey, said the film could bring tourists not only to Guernsey but to the Channel Islands as a whole.
He said: ‘This is not a scenario that they win and we lose – everyone potentially wins.
If Guernsey attracts more visitors then no doubt those people will look to enjoy other parts of the Channel Islands and that is where we can potentially see some benefits as well.
‘We wish them well and will continue to work with them, particularly in attracting people from central Europe, and we also have our own marketing campaigns.’ The film, adapted from the bestselling novel, stars Downton Abbey actress Lily James, who will be attending a première in Guernsey next month. Although set in
the island, the film was shot in Devon.
In 2013, Jersey staged its own Hollywood première when Henry Cavill brought his first Superman film – Man of Steel – to the Island, with co-stars Russell Crowe and Amy Adams joining him on the red carpet.
And, after parts of an episode of the French Top Gear were shot in the Island last year, Mr Beecham said Visit Jersey were ‘having conversations’ with potential partners to showcase the Island in additional programmes. He added that they were seeking influential travel writers and vloggers to promote the Island.
Mr Beecham also said that he was ‘optimistic’ that visitor figures for the early part of 2018 would be positive.
‘We have just launched our spring campaign, which we hope will be successful,’ he said. ‘I am optimistic that our figures for January will show some good numbers.
‘We are seeing continued interest in Jersey as a destination and the fact we have additional capacity coming in by air [direct routes to Edinburgh begin next week] can only be good news.’
