Holiday hopes are high in a complex sector

There is much going on in the planning, in the skies and on the seas. At present we don’t know quite how, if or when any purchase of a new boat by the States will impact on sea schedules, and particularly travellers to and from Guernsey. That one is almost certainly for another year.

More immediately, Condor Ferries will be desperate to see passenger numbers recovering after two Covid-impacted years – but there’s already some unhappiness about new schedules, which will see islanders travelling on fast ferries arriving in the UK in the middle of the night.

Aurigny too will want a chance to prove it can cut losses and start to operate a ‘new normal’ schedule, but all the while doing so in the knowledge that the prospect of a runway extension is gathering momentum behind the scenes. This week’s Government Work Plan update tells us that the runway extension report is nearing completion.

Jersey hoteliers said this week that they hope to be able to build on the new market established with first-time visitors coming to the island for a close-to-home, relatively risk-free break, during the past Covid summers as safety and security remain important for some of those travelling.

‘Jersey popped up on the radars of some travellers during the pandemic and appears to have stayed there,’ said one.

Guernsey hoteliers face the usual challenge of filling beds but also a wider question of how their industry is to be promoted in the future.

The tourism marketing campaign for this year has been finalised, while a longer-term tourism strategy is currently being developed with the cross-industry Tourism Recovery Taskforce.

But Visit Guernsey could well be replaced by a new body of people with a ‘real stake’ in the industry – the hoteliers and attraction owners themselves. Undoubtedly the marketing body has been something of an Aunt Sally for the industry over the years, an easy target to blame when beds don’t get filled and, of course, everyone’s a marketing expert. The concept is in discussion phase and will be before the Economic Development Committee before summer begins.

It might be another stepped recovery season for tourism in 2022, but the future looks, dare we say, very 'interesting'.