Select a region
The countdown is on to the arrival of Jersey's most unlikely visitor - American Joe Hill, dubbed the 'accidental tourist' was convinced to visit the island after mistakenly joining a local Facebook group.
Joe, and his girlfriend Amanda, will travel from Boston, Massachusetts to Jersey on 16 April after more than 100 Islanders rallied to raise £1,200 to cover travel costs.
Their five-day stay is set to be filled with many typical Jersey experiences.
It all started last October with a simple post on 12,000-strong Facebook group, 'Good or Bad Jersey Businesses.'
After mistakenly joining the online community some years ago and not having the “foggiest idea” of where Jersey is, Joe decided to remain in the group. After years of silently reading posts about the opening times of B&Q and garage reviews, Joe professed his love for the group and its members: "This is my favorite Facebook group. I've been in it for 4 years now and live in North America. Idk [I don’t know] how I ended up in here but I had previously never heard of Jersey and still only have the foggiest idea of where it is... But if anyone ever asks me I can tell them where not to get their car fixed in Jersey,” he jokingly wrote.
Pictured: The post that started it all.
The post received nearly 900 ‘likes’ in a matter of hours while dozens of islanders piled in with praise for Jersey. Many others invited Joe to come and stay so he could discover what Jersey is all about.
Scrolling through Facebook after a night out, local hotelier Alex Dolan of Dolan Hotels spotted Joe's post. He decided to set up a crowdfunding page to help raise £1,200 to pay for Joe's and Amanda tickets. He said: "I had no idea it would kick off like this. I originally started it as a joke. I never expected we would raise the money."
Donations piled in soon and in just a few days, Jersey people had raised £702 of the £1,200 goal. Assistant Minister Deputy Murray Norton even chipped in £10. A final donation by Express helped the crowdfunding initiative secure enough money for the 5,200km trip across the Atlantic.
Pictured: Many local businesses have gifted food, pints and other freebies to make Joe and Amanda's visit a memorable one.
But the couple will not only travel for free, they will also be put up at the Golden Sands hotel, which belongs to the Dolan Group, just one of many generous donations awaiting them. Many other local businesses have got involved and offered freebies to show Joe and Amanda the best Jersey has to offer. The freebies include visits of St. Helier, a potato farm, a dairy farm and Mont Orgueil, a sunset walk on the beach around Ouaisné Bay and a fishing trip. Joe and Amanda will also get to eat for free in many local establishments, including JB's which was the first to offer free food to the couple, opening the floodgates to many others.
There will be a lot for the couple to do and see during their short five-day stay but with an electric car loaned by JEC and the offer of free taxi rides by Citicabs, Mr Dolan is confident they will also have some free time to themselves.
He is also planning a 'meet and greet' with islanders who donated for Joe's visit and will announce the dates in the next few weeks. He said: "This story is just typical of the mistaken identity between Jersey and New Jersey. It was great to see people getting involved and donate. There were of course some negative comments but overall it's been positive."
Visit to a potato farm
Visit Gorey and Mont Orgueil
Have a pint at the Smugglers' Inn and the Old Court House
Fishing trip
Sunset dinner at Faulkners Fisheries at L'Etacq
Visit to a dairy farm
Dinner at JB's
Party organised by Vanguard
Full English Breakfast at Colleen's Café at Grève de Lecq
Walk on north coast
Romantic dinner in St. Aubin's
Cream tea and visit of St. Helier
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.