Jersey, c'est chic?

Monday 27 August 2018

Jersey's latest tourist figures may have raised a few 'oh la las', as it emerged that the number of French visitors coming to the island hit 66,000 in the first half of this year, shooting up by 25%.

But while the island may have risen in the esteem of our European neighbours, the number of German visitors fell by 15% at the same time, according to new statistics from Visit Jersey.

The tourism promotion body says that the fewer numbers of German visitors is due there being fewer independent visitors, as there weren't as many charter flights available.

However, Visit Jersey expect a bounce back in German interest in the summer months.

They described figures for the first six months of the year as "a mixed picture but with reasons to be optimistic."

Pictured: Overall, there were 300,000 visits to the island between January and June this year.

Overall, 300,000 visits were made to the island between January and June - 3% less than in the same period last year, albeit with visitors spending more. They splashed out 9% more than in 2017, contributing a total of £107million.

There were fewer overnight holiday trips - 156,000 - but, ironically, the number of overnight holiday visitors increased slightly by 2% in June with 52,000.

The number of people coming to the island for a day-trip fell by 5% compared to last year's numbers. However, when looking at the past 12 months, the number of day trips rose by a 13% after a couple of years of decline, mainly due to a bounce back in school group travel from France.

Half year numbers & print reviews. Check out #JerseyCI's latest tourism news, industry updates & events in the trade e-news out now https://t.co/APgkKmOVp7 pic.twitter.com/Ul6hIuEgku

— Visit Jersey (@VisitJerseyBiz) August 22, 2018

Visit Jersey says that with a "healthy recovery in travel from France", the number of visits by ferry has risen by 15% in the past year, while numbers have remained the same for air travel.  

Two thirds of visits made to Jersey over the last 12 months have been for a holiday, with a total of 405,000 holiday visits lasting at least one night - 4% more than in the previous twelve-month period.

The number of cruise ship passengers visiting Jersey in the year to June was more than 1,500 higher than in the previous twelve months at 3,500.