Collapse in sea arrivals 'extremely concerning'
A LEADING tourism industry figure has described as 'incredibly concerning' the collapse in the number of people arriving by sea.
Arrivals are down by 22% compared to last year, and by a third on the Jersey and Poole routes.
St Malo numbers are also down by more than a fifth.
Chamber of Commerce hospitality and tourism sub-group head Luke Wheadon slammed Condor for its failures over the last year.
Soothing words from the beleaguered ferry operator were fine, he said, but it had to deliver action to turn the situation around.
'These figures are incredibly concerning, this is much worse than we expected,' he said.
'If you look at air passenger arrivals, they are flat, so it is not that the people are flying here instead, it is that they are not coming here at all.
'There is a lack of confidence in Condor and its boat, and a damaged reputation from last year.
'Condor has to put a lot of work in, but it needs to be a concerted effort to U-turn the statistics.
'All of Guernsey has run out of patience, and that is more than government or my sub-group can do to put pressure on them.'