Plane and ferry visitors down a quarter on pre-Covid, latest figures show
Visitors to the Bailiwick by plane and ferry are more than a quarter down on pre-Covid numbers.
The figures come from the States Travel and Visitor Quarterly Bulletin published yesterday, which uses departure information to gauge changing trends in travel.
The report showed that the total number of visitors in July, August and September, including from cruise ships and yachts, was just under 150,000 – 19% lower than 2019.
When cruise and yacht passengers are excluded, the number of visitors falls by 26%.
When residents were included in the statistics, traveller numbers were down 16% on pre-Covid levels but showed a 2% increase on the same period in 2022.
Visitors and residents were not separated in the 2022 third quarter bulletin making it hard to establish if visitor numbers were up on last year.
Tourism Management Board chairwoman Hannah Beacom said that Guernsey was still in a recovery year, and there were plenty of positives to take from the bulletin.
‘The average stay is now longer than it was pre-covid, rising from an average of 5.2 nights to 5.5 nights, which would, we hope, increase average spend, giving a welcome boost to the general visitor economy,’ she said.
‘Bed stock figures remain stable, with significant investment being made across the accommodation sector, and occupancy data shows that levels are equal to, or above, figures from 2019.’
She said that July had been a particularly good month, with occupancy up from 75% in 2019 to 82% this year. ‘The Island Games played a large part in that, but it is worth noting that 57% of all visitors leaving by aeroplane or ferry had visited Guernsey before, which demonstrates that we have a high number of return visitors.’
She added that the board expected to see a growth in visitor numbers next year and was currently developing a tourism strategy, due to be published in the first quarter of 2024.
Guernsey Tourism Partnership Chairman Ant Ford Parker said his members remained concerned about visitor numbers.
‘We need leadership, we are desperate for a proper strategy to get behind, he said.
‘We are hoping that the TMB will lead on this and publish a strategy that the States will implement.’
He added that he had hoped the board's strategy would have be published by now, but he was now expecting it early next year.
‘It is disappointing,’ he said.
‘As it means any strategy won’t really affect next year’s numbers.’
