A UK visitor who has been coming to Island for more than half a century – but was compelled to write a letter pleading with the authorities to invest in tourism before it is too late – has been made an honorary member of the Jersey Hospitality Association.
In August, Patricia Gray, from Hull, wrote a powerful piece of correspondence to the JEP expressing her deep affection for Jersey but also highlighting her concern that the Island was starting to look “unloved and uncared for”.
She wrote: “The vibrant events calendar, the bustling tourists, the seasonal atmosphere that once filled the air no longer exist. Places that used to used to thriving are now closed or tired. Surely it cannot be solely to the hotels to carry the weight of attracting and retaining guests.”
Responding to the letter at the time, JHA co-chief executive Marcus Calvani said that Miss Gray was “bang on with everything that we’ve been talking about for the last 18 months.”
He added: “I would love for Miss Gray to return to Jersey because I would like to make her an honorary member.”
This week, Miss Gray did indeed come back, and Mr Calvani made good his promise, presenting the loyal visitor – who has returned to Jersey at least twice a year since 1973 – with a certificate.
She said: “I’m very honoured and I certainly didn’t expect any of this when I wrote the letter to the paper. However, it seems to have struck a chord, and friends from Jersey have written to me to say they agreed with what I had said.
“Jersey is such a beautiful island and I’ve made some wonderful friends here but I am sad that the importance of tourism seems to have been forgotten. When I was last here in June, I went to Grève de Lecq on a beautiful sunny day and just two people were on the beach; I couldn’t believe it.”
She added: “I first came to Island with my mum when I was 19 and have so many happy memories. Unfortunately, if I was a teenager now, I wouldn’t come back because there is very little here these days.”
Jersey is such a beautiful island and I’ve made some wonderful friends here but I am sad that the importance of tourism seems to have been forgotten
Patricia Gray
Mr Calvani said he had been persistently reminding the Government of the importance of tourism since he and his wife had become co-chief executives of the JHA, and while he felt ministers now understood, there was less evidence of action.
“We do have a visitor strategy and yet other parts of government want to raise the minimum wage, push up the cost of freight and add duty to alcohol,” he said. “My biggest fear for Jersey is that it has outpriced itself when it comes to value for money.”
He met Miss Gray this week at the Pomme d’Or Hotel, where she returns to each visit, although she has stayed in the Portland, Arden, Le Coie, Mayfair, Swansons, Stafford, Royal Oak, Chelsea and Angleterre hotels in the past, all of them now closed.
She said she remembered with fondness the shows, as well as seeing many celebrities who came to the Island to star in them. One of those, Shirley Bassey, stayed at the Pomme d’Or when Miss Gray was also there.
“I met fellow guests at the time, many of them who had come to Jersey just to see Shirley Bassey perform,” she said.
