Jersey.com - live at last!

At the Jersey Hospitality Association AGM we had been told that the re-launch of the new jersey.com website was imminent. Lo and behold this morning there it is.

It all seems to be working OK and the page load speeds have been sorted out. They've replaced those awful maps with Google mapping and the Events page is a whole lot better. I am still disappointed with the imagery - I don't think the size of images forms a big enough impression of the island.

Anyway - it's live at last and that must be a relief to all concerned. There will need to be some answers provided as to why it took 4 months to sort out all the issues and more importantly - how much over and above the initial £250k budget was spent to get to where the website is now.

Surfing.....for real and on the web

It's been a big week at Seymour Hotels this week. I don't normally write about what's occurring here, but we've seen two major switch-on's for the Group in the past two days.

Firstly, the much talked-about Flowrider at the Merton Hotel saw it's first riders sample the ride on Thursday. There's been a real buzz around the hotel at the prospect of this amazing facility 'going live' and we were not disappointed. I believe that this attraction is going to prove a huge draw for the hotel, both for staying guests, club members and corporate events. It's early days and at the moment we are concentrating on fine-tuning the flow and finishing the last bits of landscaping. By this time next week we expect to be fully open for business with regular daily sessions. If you would like to see the Merton Flowrider being christened then look at the movie I've just put up on You Tube - click to view.

Secondly, Seymour Hotels' new websites went live. Since this project was down to me, it's been a busy past few days to make sure all the final details were sorted out. We've worked with Webreality on this project and they've done a great job for us. With a total of over 250 pages and a huge amount of content, it's not been a straightforward project, but on Thursday morning it all went live in just 15 minutes, with hardly a hitch! Take a look yourself - click here - and make up your own mind.All constructive feedback gratefully received.

Now, let me check that Jersey Tourism site. Nope - as of today, still no sign of the new site.......

More support for a Conference Centre

The Jersey Hospitality Association held its AGM yesterday at The Radisson. Robert Jones of Jersey Pottery took over the role of President from Robyn Lapidus - the first non-hotel member to do so in the 50 year history of the trade body.

As regular readers of this blog know, I am keen supporter of a purpose built conference and events centre in St Helier. Yesterday, the idea received further support. Firstly, the JHA confirmed that, in response to the request for comments on the proposed new National Art Gallery, they would not be supporting the project but would rather see the money invested in a conference centre.

Further support came from the guest speaker at the lunch, James Bidwell. James is Chief Executive of Visit London and was invited to speak on the benefits of a Public Private Partnership for Tourism marketing bodies (of which Visit London is a excellent example). However, James also gave his thoughts on what Jersey needs to continue to develop a successful visitor economy and top of the list was.......a conference and events centre.

By way of inspiration, take a look at the River Centre in Tonbridge. Tonbridge and the surrounding district has a local population of about 100k - not dissimilar to Jersey. The centre can accommodate up to 750 people for a conference and is about the size we need here.

Hopefully those involved in the consultation process will take on board the feedback coming loud and clear from our industry - an art gallery will do little to attract visitors to Jersey, whilst a conference and events centre would open up a number of new markets for the island.

Jersey Tourism takes the right decision & reinstates advertising campaign

The media for the last couple of days have been focusing on the impact of the Haut de la Garenne story on the tourism industry. This was prompted by the anecdotal evidence suggesting sales were 10-15% down and that research undertaken last weekend in the UK indicated that the media coverage has had a negative impact on forward bookings.

I believe Jersey Tourism were right to withdraw the campaign at the time. It would have been completely inappropriate if their television commercial had aired whilst news bulletins were headlining the child abuse story, or if newspaper advertisements had appeared alongside coverage in national papers.

It is also clear that across the industry there has been a downturn in enquiries for the summer over the past 2 weeks – although it is impossible to assess how much of this is down to the negative publicity. In the case of our own business, we have not received any cancellations and my view is that the vast majority of people are able to separate the Haut de la Garenne news story from the image of Jersey as a holiday destination.

However for whatever reason there has been a downturn and now the media coverage has quietened down, we must get back in the public eye. We are entering a key booking period for the summer and we have to be out there competing with the rest of the marketplace for our share.

We will all be keeping a close eye on sales levels over the next 2-3 weeks. If sales do not improve, then I hope The States of Jersey will stick to its word and make additional funds available for further marketing activity.

Haut La Garenne - the impact for tourism

Eights days after the first revelations of child abuse at the former Jersey children’s home were revealed to the world at large, the media attention on our small island is unrelenting. Today’s Sunday newspapers do not make for pleasant reading and clearly the investigation into the various strands of this horrific story will continue for weeks, months and probably years to come. Every day it seems more dreadful stories emerge of suffering endured by children at the home. Now we hear of intimidation and threats to those brave enough to come forward with their own tales of abuse. There is possibly even worse to come.

To me it feels as if I am living in some kind of parallel universe. The beautiful island I am privileged to live in seems so far removed from the dark, and in parts dishonest, image now being portrayed to the world outside. Watching the news each evening, it is hard to believe that this is all going on 3 miles from where I live. The situation has not been helped by the complete incompetence of The Chief Minister, Frank Walker and his advisors in dealing with the media. Some of the most basic rules have been ignored and as a result, embarrassed the whole island community.

As well as having to come to terms with these revelations, the tourism industry has to consider what impact the Haut La Garenne investigation may have on their businesses. Not surprisingly I, along with others, have been keeping a close eye on the daily sales data to see if there has been a fall in bookings or enquiries via the website or telephone. So far we appear to have remained immune, with sales last week remaining strong and not one ‘phone call from concerned clients.

However, it’s very early days. Much business generated at this time of year is for business people (who have to come here) and weekend break couples (who can probably divorce the historic abuse story from the Jersey of today). I believe the impact could be felt over the next 6-8 weeks as we start to see more peak summer bookings. Parents, in particular, may feel uncomfortable bringing their children to a place with such a dark shadow hanging over it.

So what do we do about it? The media coverage is completely out of our control and may continue for some weeks to come, depending on what further investigations reveal. However, we will continue to run our marketing campaigns as planned and seek to reassure anyone concerned that the island is a beautiful, safe destination to take a holiday or short break.

Jersey is going to have to accept that the past week has shifted the image of the island in people’s minds. It is too early to tell how much damage has been inflicted on our image as a tourism destination. For now my thoughts are with all those who suffered abuse or worse and a sincere hope that all those who perpetrated these deeds are brought to justice.

A National Art Gallery for Jersey – it’s time for the industry to respond.

On Friday last, Jersey’s Education Sport & Culture Minister, Senator Mike Vibert, published his Strategic Plan for a National Gallery for Jersey and requested interested parties to respond with comments on the proposal. You can download a copy by clicking here

Along with the Strategic Plan, the Minister published yet another report from Locum Consulting (the third of substance from these consultants in two years – Jersey has served them well!). This Concept and Impact Assessment Report outlines the cost of building the Gallery (almost £10million) and offers solutions as to how this capital cost together with the annual running costs of c. £500k will be financed – without asking taxpayers to cough up.

Leaving aside the benefit to the local community – it is difficult to argue against this – I would focus attention on the Gallery as a contributor to the visitor economy. Locum has produced various revenue projections based on different admission charges, ranging from free entry to a £9.00 entry fee. Based on current staying leisure visitor numbers, they suggest between 28,000 and 50,000 visitors would put the gallery on their ‘must see’ list in one year – plus a few more day trippers, business visitors and even 2000 visiting yachtsmen! This would make it the third most popular attraction for visitors after Durrell and the Jersey War Tunnels.

Locum go into a huge amount of detail in their projections and suggest that the Gallery will even produce additional visits to Jersey from tourists, as images of the Gallery will ‘tip the balance’ in favour of a visit.

Readers of this blog will know that for some time I have been advocating the construction of a purpose-built conference centre on the Waterfront (click here to refresh your memory). From a purely visitor economy perspective, the Gallery will in no way provide the benefits that a conference and events centre, capable of holding 1000 delegates and hosting concerts and sports events as well as corporate meetings would have for all of the stakeholders in Jersey’s tourism industry.

I hope that our trade representatives, Jersey Hospitality, will consult with its members before formulating their response to this proposal. Please take time to read the documents and make your views known to the JHA or direct to David Greenwood, Assistant Director – Culture and Lifelong Learning at ESC, who is responsible for managing the consultation.

One thought – what about combining the Gallery with a Conference and Events Centre and creating a building that will benefit both residents and visitors alike?

Nice to see you….to see you Nice!

Today Flybe announced that they would start operating weekly flights between Jersey and Nice on the French Riviera from 24th May. Great news for Jersey residents looking for a week in Provence or hoping to break the bank of Monte Carlo, but is this of benefit to Jersey’s visitor economy?

Deputy Alan Maclean welcomed the announcement today, suggesting that “This new route opens up a number of opportunities for inbound tourism…” Not sure that many Provençales will be jumping off their sun beds on the Med. coast to spend a week in the relatively chilly Gulf of St Malo, but we'll see.

Anyway – it gives me another option for my summer holiday this year. Return fares seem to start at around £100.00 – not bad for a direct route to the sun.

Jersey’s Competition Authority’s fine Thomsonfly. What message are we trying to send!?

It’s been a bit quiet on the blogging front for the past few weeks. But rather like London buses, you have nothing to write about for weeks and then 3 stories come along at once.

Firstly, there’s the mighty JCRA levying a crushing fine of, wait for it….. £10,000 on TUI (parent company of Thomsonfly) for failing to advise them back in September of their acquisition of First Choice. Apparently, because Thomsonfly were flying to the island, they should have advised the JCRA in order that they could assess the competitive effects of the acquisition.

Despite the fact that the JCRA has no power to order TUI not to proceed with the merger (as if that would make a difference!), they still decided to fine them for an administrative oversight. What sort of message does this send to other airlines or businesses we are desperately trying to attract to Jersey? I hope the £10k fine which is going to the States will be handed over to Jersey Airport to use for marketing activities.

Ferries – separating fact from fiction

Two ferry stories in the past fortnight which are probably non-stories.

1. The Daily Telegraph reported on 24th January that Condor Ferries was to be sold on by Royal Bank of Scotland (the report has not been confirmed or denied by the company). However, as Rob Provan their chief executive has pointed out, it has no impact on the business. RBS bought Condor from ABN Amro just 3 & ½ years ago, so presumably this is about realising some nice profits rather than any issues to do with the business.

2. HD Ferries, who have always been good at spinning stories, announced on Monday this week that they plan to start services to the UK in direct competition with Condor. Whilst there is no exclusivity, there is a service level agreement and common transport policy with Guernsey that would require both a back-up traditional ferry service and probably another high-speed craft. Their chief executive, Christopher Howe-Davies suggested that the announcement about Condor’s sale would unsettle travellers. How so?

So competition is already hotting up and HD Ferries have not even started their St Malo service yet! By the way I wonder whatever happened to HD’s announcement that they were going to sue Condor (see previous blog)?

Jersey Tourism PPP – Economic Development release final proposals

The creation of a new marketing organisation for Jersey, based on a private public partnership, is possibly the single biggest change in the tourism industry for over two decades. It’s surprising therefore that the release of the final proposal document has taken place without so far a word to the industry from either of the two sponsors. You can download a copy by clicking here.

Locum Consulting were commissioned by the States of Jersey to produce a paper outlining the form that the new organisation could take and how it would function and be resourced. The process has taken a couple of years and has resulted in the production of this final report which has been endorsed by both Mike King, chief executive at Economic Development and Gerald Fletcher, chief executive of the Jersey Hospitality Association.

The new organisation will be called ‘Marketing Jersey’ and will be a non profit-making limited company, controlled by an independent board of directors and funded through the combination of a States grant and private sector finance, raised through membership fees.

Overall, I support the proposals, although I have concerns on three issues:

1) It is proposed that the Board will be made up of 11 individuals – this looks too big to me and could become turgid and incapable of taking effective decisions. A maximum of 8 board members should be the target.

2) The structure of the executive groups – why split prestige and traditional holiday markets into separate groups? The skills required to market these products are the same. Combine the two into one group otherwise the marketing manager is going to be pulled in different directions by separate group chairmen.

3) The biggest concern is funding. According to the document, the JHA have been tasked with bringing forward membership fee proposals – members need to see these proposals before agreeing to go ahead. Moreover what guarantees are there on States funding? Whilst there is a 3 year rolling deal, Treasury will presumably be looking to achieve a phased reduction in the grant provided and there will need to be safeguards in place to ensure that the total pot does not keep falling. There seems to be no guarantee of this within the proposal.

I would urge everyone directly involved or associated with our industry to download the document, digest it and give your feedback to Economic Development and the JHA – which I am sure they would be keen to receive. You can also vote in the poll to the right of this post.

Economic Development want to see the new organisation in place in time to take on 2009 marketing. But in my opinion the industry needs to make sure we have the right organisation with a secure funding structure in place before we commit to such a fundamental change.

Promiscuous online travel consumers - how do we retain their loyalty?

Comscore and Google have recently announced the results of a survey into 20,000 UK online consumers and their behaviour in purchasing travel online. The research revealed that on average:

• 20 million people in the UK used the internet to research their holiday in the first quarter of 2007
• Consumers visited 22 (yes that’s right – 22!) websites before purchasing.
• Made 12 travel related searches using a search engine.
• Took 29 days from the time of the first search to make a purchase.
• Visited the site they eventually purchased from 2.5 times, rising to 3.9 times for tour operator sites.
• 54% of shoppers started the research process with a generic term (e.g. ‘flights to jersey’) rather than a branded search term such as ‘Easyjet flights to jersey’

For me, the key issue that comes out of this research is how fickle the online shopper has become when it comes to brand. The real challenge is trying to keep consumers loyal to your brand/website during the 4 week shopping process.

For repeat customers it’s fairly straight forward. If your data capturing systems are good enough then you should be able to communicate directly via e-mail and develop your relationship on a one-to-one basis. Encouraging first time visitors to book through your site is a much tougher challenge. Google predictably responded to the survey by suggesting the key is to improve your rankings on search engines and spend more on online advertising.

The other big development in this area is the growth of meta-search sites such as travelsupermarket.com and cheapflights.co.uk. These sites operate by taking a consumer search enquiry and going off to individual travel company websites & providing a comparison of price and availability, thereby reducing the workload of the online shopper. These sites are likely to provide a greater challenge to Google as they provide a one-stop shop.

Sadly, it looks likely that brand-equity, which has never been that great in our industry, is going to become even less relevant.

October visitors down - is it a blip or a sign of harder times ahead?

A Happy New Year to everyone who follows this blog. It's good to be back after the festive season.

Now if you were to come up with a list of days of the year to bury bad news, then Christmas Eve would come pretty near the top of the list. That may be why Jersey Tourism chose that day to release October's staying visitor statistics.

After a year of generally positive figures, October saw a significant drop on the previous year. Leisure visitor volumes dropped by 7% to below 30,000 and the average length of stay also fell by 3%. As a result the increase for the year dropped to just over 1%, or 4000 additional people.

More worryingly, business visitors also fell for the first time this year (by 6%). Business visitors' revenue makes an important contribution to the tourism pot in the winter months, when leisure visitors are less inclined to travel.

So what should we read into these figures? Did the credit crunch and Northern Rock publicity affect people's willingness to take a short break in the autumn? It would appear so. The loss of low cost services operated by Thomsonfly may also have had an effect.

Is it a blip, or should we be worried about the impact of UK economic difficulties for 2008? It's impossible to predict, but my guess is that it is going to be a tough start to the year. I expect peak season sales to be sluggish until the spring and the remainder of this winter to be tough with both leisure & business visitors thinner on the ground than last year.

Jersey Tourism's TV commercial started airing on Boxing Day. Let's hope it is having the desired impact. If it is, we'll probably hear about it. If not, then the spinners will probably wait until another good day for bad-news burying comes along.