VISIT Jersey says it hopes to continue to create a ‘world-class’ tourist experience in 2023 after receiving its highest-ever visitor recommendation score last spring.
Writing in The Business supplement in today’s JEP, Claire Lyons, the organisation’s interim chief executive, listed a range of successes for the Island’s tourism industry last year, including its best ‘net promoter’ ranking, which measures the likelihood that visitors will recommend a destination to family and friends.
Ms Lyons also revealed that visitor numbers had recovered well following the Covid lockdowns, particularly in the UK and German markets, and that the number of nights visitors spend in the Island had slightly increased.
She wrote: ‘With ongoing dialogue, innovative thinking and collaboration we can develop and grow a world-class, enriching visitor experience that positively contributes to the health and vibrancy of our economy, community, environment and heritage.
‘Looking at the numbers – September 2022 against September 2019 – shows that total passenger arrivals have recovered to more than 70% of January-September 2019 levels, and that visitors are spending more time in the Island, with the average length of stay increasing from 4.4 nights in 2019 to 5.0 days in 2022.
‘It is not just the quantity of visitors coming that matters, but also the quality of their experience. As an island we achieved our highest ever net-promoter score in the second quarter of 2022.
‘NPS is a widely used industry metric which measures the likelihood that visitors will recommend a destination to their family and friends.
‘Any score above 50 is considered excellent and Jersey scored an impressive 70 (for context, the lowest possible score is –100 and the popular destination of Australia scored a 43 in 2018/2019).’
Visit Jersey recently launched a new marketing campaign aimed at UK holidaymakers which will run until April and feature in national newspapers, ITV, Channel 4 and on the London Underground.
It features a range of scenic images and reprises the ‘Curiously Brit(ish)’ slogan first used last year which promotes the Island as a ‘place that’s familiar, yet ever so slightly exotic’.
Looking ahead to the 2023 season, Ms Lyons wrote: ‘Tourism must grow and develop in Jersey in a sustainable, productive and co-ordinated way and we believe that, together, working with both industry and government, we can drive the visitor economy forward.
‘A tourism strategy with a long-term vision will enable the industry to thrive in Jersey, moving from recovery to its renewal and growth and we look forward to building this strategy with industry and government colleagues in the near- and long-term.’
