More than 40 on-island trade suppliers, including hoteliers, activity and transport providers, attended the event. It was a chance for them to network with the more than 20 tour operators and two carriers invited by Visit Guernsey.
With more than 100 attendees, the function room at The Duke Hotel was buzzing on Tuesday. Each local trade provider was given 15 minutes at each table to showcase their business and build contacts with potential and current key partners.
‘It’s like speed dating, essentially,’ said Josephine Ferguson, Visit Guernsey’s travel trade relationships and marketing manager, who ran the event for the first time.
‘Business match-making to pull together packages for 2027/8 to cross-promote the islands. We’ve done a lot of work to win over a lot of people. And actually, after today, I really think we’ve done that. I’m excited to start planning for the next one.’
She said the new Brittany Ferries and British Airways links had widened the horizon of contacts this year, and she was pleased to welcome new faces. This had included WebBeds, the second largest wholesaler globally. The company connects hotels with travel buyers around the world, and two of its representatives flew in from Heathrow for their inaugural visit to the island.
‘We’re here with the idea to tie-up with British Airways,’ said Ross Parker, regional head of contracting.
‘We want to become their preferred partner for a bed-bank. So hotels will give us their inventory, their stock, and then we have sales agents that buy that off us – with BA being one of them. We also have lots of other sales agents – Hays Travel, Trail Finders, etc. – who can dip into this pool of rooms and buy them from Guernsey.’
WebBeds have partnered with Jersey for the past 15 years and Mr Parker said that relationship had been initiated at an event similar to this one.
‘This could be the start of something really good,’ he said.
‘It’s been a brilliant day. We’ve been able to open doors, meet and see people that we would never have met otherwise. We’ve never walked into a room and not known anyone – so this was quite a new experience. People have been really engaging, it was fantastic. It was just nice to go back to old-school face-to-face conversations, which are a dying breed now – but so valuable.
'And because we’re so established, we don’t get much new product any more. So to have introductory conversations, for us, has been very exciting. Everyone we spoke with has seemed very keen, too. We look forward to coming back, to explore further – and to get a feel for how things operate here. We want to work with the hotels, not just sign a contract and disappear.’
Miss Ferguson said she had put her own spin on the event this year, featuring a new local showcase filled with Guernsey products for visitors to get a taste of the island’s offerings. She had also included trade providers from Alderney, Sark and Herm.
‘It’s really important to me to have the islands represented here today,’ she said.
Long-standing partners, including French-based company Jersey Tour, had also attended.
‘I attend all events organised by Visit Guernsey every two years,’ said its director Olivier Chantreau.
‘I like it because it’s the occasion to see the hotels and the suppliers. It’s a great event for me. A chance to talk about the important things in person. I have only email or phone usually.
'Sometimes it’s interesting to envisage your contact, to put a face to the name.’
Yesterday the visitors enjoyed a whistle-stop tour of the island, hosted by Visit Guernsey, before they travel home.
‘I think everyone had a really good day,’ said Miss Ferguson.