Three-year plan is the aim of new tourism head

‘I think we’re looking at a three-year post-Covid strategy,’ said new Tourism Management Board chairwoman Hannah Beacom.

‘The overall objective is to increase the contribution of tourism to the economy.’

The Island Coachways managing director was appointed by Economic Development last week.

Her first concern is the potential effect on tourism – in particular cruise passengers – if the States back new taxes on tourists next week.

‘We’re now facing tax propositions which are looking to hammer that part of the industry,’ said Mrs Beacom.

‘That’s one of our success stories. We’ve seen massive growth there. And how are we going to respond? A tax which hammers them and makes them think twice about the welcome they’re going to get here.’

Mrs Beacom said cruise passengers were important to the island, but often undervalued.

‘A lot of business in this industry is linked to our cruise passengers. They spend money when they get here, but because those figures are not widely available the benefits are easy to overlook.’

Mrs Beacom said the current mood in the tourism industry was mixed.

‘There is a lot of uncertainty about this year. Post-Covid, we are largely staring into the unknown, and we are heading into a recession. But there is also tentative optimism.’

The Tourism Management Board has been set up to bring together the various parts of the industry and help develop a new tourism strategy.

‘I don’t want to look back to the glory days of the 1980s, because the market has changed so much and our customers have changed. Those days are gone. This is about looking ahead and improving on where we are,’ said Mrs Beacom.

‘We want to help lift quality in general. We haven’t been marketing as well as we could to encourage greater spending. We’ve been dismissive of day-trippers when they need to be encouraged. I don’t think we’ve got a joined-up vision and we need one.’