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.
More support for a Conference Centre
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.
