Tourist industry needs cash, says new report

THE hotel industry is suffering from underinvestment because of the negative attitude of lenders. A new report into Guernsey's tourism industry showed that 30% of hotels were now 'increasingly dependent' on revenue from guest tradesmen.

Guernsey Hotel and Tourism Association president Carl Symes believes that the industry needs heavy investment if it is to prosper following the end of what is a short-term phenomenon. He said that hoteliers realised that the key was to attract more short-break visitors, but they were unable to make the substantial investment necessary because of the negative attitude of lenders.

'The type of accommodation that tradesmen are using may not be relevant for returning to tourism. Therefore, there will have to be the necessary investment to bring standards up to a competitive level,' he said.

'The report highlights the need for investment if the industry is to remain competitive but it also shows the problems that hoteliers face in making investment because of the negative attitude of lending institutions.'

Mr Symes said that the survey, by accountants Chandlers, had produced a useful snapshot of the industry.

'It has highlighted some of the issues which make our job harder compared to that of our competitors, especially in the UK: staff recruitment; higher average wages; the rapidly changing market place, especially changes in visitor profiles; the influence of tradespeople; and the move towards short breaks.

'Despite these difficulties, there is still a holiday industry that needs to be developed to prosper, but it will not happen automatically and needs investment.'

There were real possibilities in the short-break market but there needed to be continual investment because of strong competition, particularly in the UK. This, though, was often blocked.

'I cannot say why there are negative attitudes - you will have to ask them - but people do find it difficult to get money to invest,' he said.

Commerce and Employment minister Stuart Falla said that there was no need to panic about the level of business from tradesmen as long as the industry was prepared to fill the void when the building boom slowed.

'At the moment, the positive aspect is that they have got somewhere to stay. The challenge will be dealing with what happens afterwards and we have to be aware of that and prepare for it.'

Deputy Falla added that the industry was already correctly aiming to attract more middle-aged visitors, making sure that the core audience did not get older and not get replaced.

VisitGuernsey chief executive Stuart Pinnell said that he was pleased with the feedback from the survey and hoped it would be repeated every year. He added that it should be seen as complementary to the annual TNS visitor report, the 2004 edition of which would be released in the next week.