JERSEY should be well-placed to tap into the lucrative “boomer” travel market – but only if the Island smartens up its act, a hospitality event has heard.
That was the message to business leaders attending a Jersey Hospitality Association networking event from guest speaker Ben Shenton.
Tourists from the “baby-boomer” generation, born between 1946 and 1964, had been shown to spend three times as much on travelling as those in “Generation Z” [born since 1997], he said.
The evidence came from a report by management consultancy firm McKinsey which Mr Shenton said had estimated the total global outlay on travel in 2024 to be the equivalent of around 9% of global GDP.
“There is a lot of opportunity for those stakeholders who can cater to this [over-60s] group – it could be a new chapter for our tourism industry,” he said, adding that Jersey should appeal as a “familiar” destination, and that older travellers would visit the Island across a broader time period than the peak summer months of July and August.
But Mr Shenton, a former politician who is also chair of Age Concern, said that the Island risked putting off potential visitors as a result of what he described as the tatty state of the Island’s Airport and Harbour.
“You won’t attract people with a sh***y airport,” he said, displaying a picture of ripped seating and a damaged table at one of the gates at Jersey Airport.
“Ports of Jersey needs to be held to account,” he added.
In response, Ports of Jersey said that they were at the start of major investment programmes at the Airport and the Harbour and hoped to share early concept designs in late March. A spokesperson said: “We are planning to reconfigure the Airport Departure Hall to create a much warmer and relaxing environment, with new shops and restaurants, as well as places to relax while waiting for flights. We also hope to create a roof terrace, a children’s play area, technology to make it easier to travel smoothly through the Airport and a quiet space. Most importantly, we want to capture the spirit of Jersey and really appreciate the input into this project from stakeholder groups across the Island, including the Jersey Hospitality Association.
“In the last year we have invested in the Assisted Travel service, provided more seating, and we’ve worked with Visit Jersey to install a display of local art and refresh the images of local scenes.
“We will continue to make short-term improvements, one of which is a new family area in Airport Departures.”
Mr Shenton also criticised the government for the high level of financial support (£270,000 in 2024) to the Battle of Flowers. While he said he supported some public funding for the annual August parade, he said it was “not a tourist event” and took place at a time of year when hotels were likely to be full anyway.
Further critical observations aimed at the government covered the barriers put in the way of hospitality businesses, including the factors making it difficult to bring staff to the Island and the red-tape surrounding planning applications.
The planning hurdles included one operator having to pay more than £100,000 on an application for a hotel that would have brought millions of pounds in visitor spend and hundreds of thousands of pounds in tax to the government, he said.
