JERSEY’S day-trip market from France could be in jeopardy from next year, with the Home Affairs Minister warning that the days of the French identity card scheme, which was extended yesterday, could be numbered.
Deputy Mary Le Hegarat has announced a 12-month extension to the scheme, which was introduced after the post-Brexit requirement to travel from France with a passport saw visitor numbers plummet.
But she raised concerns about the Electronic Travel Authority scheme planned for late 2025, which will require non-visa-nationals travelling to the Common Travel Area to provide passport details in advance.
Many French visitors do not have passports, using their national identity cards to travel within the EU.
Deputy Le Hegarat said she was pleased to be able to extend the scheme – introduced in April last year by her predecessor, Deputy Helen Miles – to September 2025 to benefit the local tourist industry but added: “While the introduction of the ETA scheme makes further extension potentially problematic, it will increase the security of the CTA and consequently our island’s borders.”
Her ministerial colleague Deputy Kirsten Morel welcomed the 12-month extension but said that his personal view was that “Jersey must stand up for its own interests”.
“My understanding is that [the current ID card arrangements] are within Jersey’s power and while I appreciate that the UK has its concerns, Jersey has to stand up for its own interests and find a way of continuing the arrangements,” he said, adding that he would be happy to work with Deputy Le Hegarat and Home Affairs to enable that to happen.
Deputy Morel’s concerns were echoed by the Jersey Hospitality Association, whose co-chief executive, Marcus Calvani, joined in welcoming the 12-month extension, which he said was “hugely successful and important to support our visitor economy next year”.
But he added: “Sadly, we seem to be caught up in issues between other countries and rather than come up with a ‘Jersey’ solution that serves everyone, which we can do as a self-governing Island, we are being dragged down by regulations imposed on us from the UK.
“We have said consistently that we need to be bolder in standing up for our rights. If exceptions are made for Ireland and Gibraltar, why can’t those be extended here? We should be looking at ways to boost business between our island and France, and constantly making sure that our decisions are for the benefit of our island, our population and our economy first and foremost.”
He added that the Island could not afford to damage routes which provided huge economic benefits, as well as travel opportunities, for Islanders, and said that the JHA would welcome any opportunity to engage and work collaboratively to find solutions.
Statistics provided by Visit Jersey show that last year there was an 86% increase in all French visitors, while day visitors rose by 45% on the previous year.
Visit Jersey’s chief executive, Trish Warwick, declined to comment on the impact of the Electronic Travel Authority scheme, but said her organisation was grateful to Deputy Le Hegarat and her team for the work that went into extending the identity card scheme.
“At Visit Jersey, we have targeted marketing and PR activity planned in France to continue raising awareness and growing Jersey’s appeal with prospective French visitors. We are also working collaboratively with our counterparts from French tourism boards to share ideas and intelligence, and cross-promote,” she said.
