Fiona Kerley, managing director of the Ommaroo Hotel and a former head of the Jersey Hospitality Association, said the news that the whole of England would turn red forced many potential visitors to rethink their holiday plans over fears of having to isolate.
She said that the government’s recent easing of isolation rules had given tourists renewed confidence, but some had already cancelled their booking.
‘We saw a real drop-off in bookings and had quite a lot of cancellations when it was initially announced that England was turning red. So the announcement regarding the reduction in isolation requirements for those double-vaccinated should really help now,’ she said.
‘Many people have cancelled as they had only received one vaccine and even if they were double-vaccinated they were worried about being contact traced and not being able to enjoy their holiday.’
She added: ‘It is frustrating because we won’t be able to resell those beds now at short notice and this will have an impact on the end of June and into the first few weeks of July.
‘We’re trying to save as many bookings as we can and are starting to see more coming through now that the contact-tracing rules have been eased.’
The UK government this week announced that a number of holiday destinations, including Malta and Ibiza, had been given green-listed travel status – something Mrs Kerley said could affect the Island’s tourism industry.
‘It could deter people away from Jersey as they have the opportunity to look further afield when choosing a holiday,’ she said.
‘Other countries have stuck with a similar Covid policy throughout whereas I think the constant changes to restrictions locally has made it really confusing to potential visitors looking to holiday here this summer,’ she added.
Meanwhile, Gavin Reid, managing director of Randalls, said any increase in the number of visitors was irrelevant as their venues did not have the capacity to serve them.
He criticised the government’s decision to delay the last stage of easing restrictions which includes the introduction of stand-up drinking.
The final phase of reconnection was initially scheduled for 14 June but has been delayed twice and will not come into place until 5 July at the earliest.
‘Why was there such a rush to get everyone vaccinated if they will not let us get back to full normality? We have played our part by getting jabbed, now it is time for the government to play theirs,’ said Mr Reid.
‘With the Euros on we had a real opportunity to reintroduce vertical drinking and make up some ground. For example, we could have had up to 400 people in Chambers watching the England game the other day, but we are only able to take just over 100.’
He added: ‘We could have made the start of the year palatable by taking the opportunity we have this summer, but the season has already taken a big hit and no one is certain when we will get back to normal.’
