A DEAL to help boost the number of German tourists coming to the Island, after several years of declining figures, was reliant on the now-collapsed Blue Islands, Visit Jersey’s chief executive has said.
The German market, which largely used charter flights and tours, made up 7% of tourism in Jersey before the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, charter flights ended in 2020 and now just 2% of visitors come from Germany.
Tricia Warwick, who has been at the head of Jersey’s tourist board since 2023, told the Public Accounts Committee during a hearing yesterday that she and representatives of the Jersey Hospitality Association had travelled to Germany and Switzerland earlier this year to convince tour operators to come back to the Island.
She said that those operators then negotiated with Blue Islands to bring charters back and that Germany had been “the only growth market this year” as a result.
Blue Islands’ collapse at the end of last week wasn’t the first time the airline’s woes affected tourism – it was ranked the least punctual airline in the UK earlier this year, which Mrs Warwick said caused “reputational damage” to tourism in the Island.
Being based in the Channel Islands, Blue Islands didn’t have to follow EU rules on cancellations, so passengers could find themselves stranded in Jersey, having to book their own hotels and unable to claim compensation after a flight was cancelled, the committee heard.
Speaking to the PAC, Mrs Warwick said their customer service was “pretty poor”.
“We’ve seen a lot of cancellations on Blue Islands because people don’t trust it and don’t want to fly anymore,” she said.
“The reputational damage when you’re considering a destination is an important factor.”
