What's this? Senator Walker accused of ignoring his eldest child, Tourism whilst opening his arms to give the baby of the family, The Finance Industry, a nice big cuddle? "But I give Tourism more pocket money than Finance!", Daddy Frank cries. "And I need both children to survive and do well for the sake of all our other relatives".
The problem is that the older Tourism child went to State School, got a few GCSE's and as a result does not earn very much. Whereas, little (well, quite big for his age!) Finance was clever enough to go to Grammar School, got a degree at Oxford and now earns huge sums. Daddy Frank finds it easier to relate to the better-educated Finance child - whereas he regards his older child as a bit of a pain in the a**e and wishes she (for yes she is a girl) would go back to school and re-educate herself in the winning ways of the Finance Industry.
What The CM needs to remember is that once upon a time, his eldest child was the one earning all the money, while Finance was still a baby. What's more little Finance may get fed up with Jersey one day and decide to travel the world. Then good old, reliable Tourism (which will never go anywhere else) will be the main provider again. Let's hope she's not so old that she's died.....
The Chief Minister's Prodigal Child
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5 comments:
Hi Robert,
Great stuff - satirical edge, and straight to the point.
But do you think Tourism should get handouts?
Phil
Nicely put Robert - let's hope a little humour might help the process! Concerning Phil's point - I don't believe that Tourism is looking for handouts but it is looking for added incentive to local businesses to be set against the massive scale of investment required to bring the infrastucture and product offering up to date and able to look forward to the further challenges ahead. Tourism globally is growing but tourism in Jersey isn't. Can we look into the question as to why this is? Other destinations don't seem to find it difficult to attract inward investment (and I don't mean the sort of rape, plunder and pillage that is taking place on the Waterfront by off island developers!)Maybe our Chief Minister is being seduced by sweet talking captains of industry to the detriment of the boys in the village!
Hi Robert
Found your site at last!
Interesting last Blog, it's really important that these kinds of discussion take place, it makes everybody reflect on what is important in tourism. Coming from someone like yourself at the sharp end, I would like to think that your views are taken into consideration when the policymakers sit around the table (assuming they do of course!)
Keep up the good work I'm sure the Island community will benefit from your pearls of wisdom.
David Warr
Hi Robert,
Very nice prose, but quite frankly we've got to stop talking and come up with a plan to re-launch Tourism. Not the usual rhetoric that is trawled out again and again, but real ideas and a time frame that is presented to Walker, Cohen, Le Sueur and Ozouf as a proper business plan by real Tourism heavyweights and they don't go away untill we get a yes from the ministers. No more talking, just action.
I would like to see a championship golf course, whose stated aim is to get Jersey on the European Tour. There is a wall of private funding out there to do it, they just need to get on with it. We need another marina and again there is private funding out there to do. I'd like to see Tourism employ a regatta manager and get a high profile regatta established. The Isle of Wight survives the whole year on the 1000(yes..1000!) boats that visit for cowes week every year.I did the Tour des Ports this year, which is a week long race around Normand and CI ports organised by the french. 104 boats took part but it was embarrassing visiting St Helier because of the poor facilities for visiting yachtsman. St Aubins fort is potentially a centre for marine excellence. It would make a great base for a residential sailing school but is just a graveyard for old boats with occasional use by a select few. Again the Isle of Wight has an international sailing academy why can't we? If you can sail and navigate in our waters you can sail anyware and thats our USP.
Why don't governemnt get involved and sort Condor out? The French spend millions of euros getting the TGV to St Malo but condor can't link in with the times. That would give us a great link to Paris and potentially a huge shortbreak market. Don't tell me they can't do it, they have the north and south routes sewn up(and well done to them for having the commercial foresight to do it), but government and Tourism needs to say sort it out.
If you really want to get Tourism going again, you need a pro-active heavyweight group that will eyeball those in power with a proper plan and get results.
Just a few thoughts for you........
To the last poster - thanks for your comments. isn't it great to get these things off your chest - makes me feel a whole lot better! I agree we need action not words - perhaps a PPP structure will achieve that (see my most recent post - more words I'm afraid.
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