‘French day trippers most likely to be impacted by ETA scheme’
THE day-trip market is most likely to be worst hit by the introduction of new travel authorisation requirements, according to Robert Mackenzie from pan-Channel Islands travel operator CI Travel Group.
From the end of next year all international travellers are expected to need a visa waiver under the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation Scheme.
But Mr Mackenzie said that the impact of the ETAs was more likely to be felt in the French day tripper market than from visitors further afield.
‘My view is that for the majority of people, it’s not going to be a big deal,’ he said.
‘It’s no different to if you go to the USA and you have to apply for a similar visa waiver scheme.’
ETAs will cost visitors £10 and be valid for two years. Meanwhile, the EU is next year bringing in the European Travel Information and Authorisation System, which will require islanders and people from the UK travelling to Europe to get a visa waiver.
This will cost about 7 euros and be valid for three years.
It is thought that only about half the French population have passports and Mr Mackenzie said that even with the islands bringing in a scheme to allow them to continue to use their national identity cards to travel to the islands, numbers had still not recovered to pre-Covid levels.
With the introduction of ETAs it is thought unlikely that the scheme will be able to continue.
‘Unless something else is put in place – which is fairly unlikely given that Jersey and Guernsey are regarded as borders by the UK – people will not come in large numbers.’
A decision to take a day trip could be a last-minute thing, he added, and even people with passports might not have taken them with them on a trip within the country.
Travel correspondent for The Independent newspaper Simon Calder told the BBC he had calculated the overall financial impact that the ETAs being brought in would have on the UK as well as the Crown Dependencies and said that it would probably run into billions of pounds.
‘Then, well we are into the millions for the impact I think it will have on Jersey and Guernsey, and of course, unfortunately, reputationally it doesn’t do the Channel Islands any good at all either,’ he said.
Mr Calder said it was another example of the UK government 'shooting itself in the foot economically' in terms of travel and tourism post-Brexit.
The States is set to discuss the Bailiwick’s involvement with ETAs later this year.
