Tourists spending more cash in less time

Friday 13 July 2018

Visitors are spending more money, but less time, in the island, the latest numbers from Visit Jersey have revealed.

The figures, from an exit survey conducted by Visit Jersey, show that between January and May, holidaymakers are spending almost 25% less time in the island, but they are paying out £3million more when they are here than in the same period last year.

The number of nights holiday-makers are staying in Jersey is down to 405,306, marking a 24% decrease from the same period last year. 

Visitors here on business also seem to be opting for day-trips rather than overnight stays, with a 36% decrease in the number of nights business visitors are staying versus a 91% increase in business day-trippers.

Pictured: Visitors to Jersey are spending more money, but fewer nights in Jersey, according to the latest statistics from Visit Jersey.

But The figures also indicate that visitors spent more than £21million in the island between January and May, which is a £3million increase compared to the same period last year. 

The statistics show that visitors are substantially more satisfied with their stay in Jersey, giving the island a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 54 – an increase from last year’s score of 46. NPS is a management tool which measures customer satisfaction, and a score of 50+ is considered to be “excellent”.

This data is compiled from an exit survey where approximately 8,500 departing visitors are asked details about their stay in Jersey.

Pictured: The results of the Visit Jersey exit survey, based on the interviews of around 8,500 departing visitors (Visit Jersey).

Robert Mackenzie, Managing Director of travel company, C.I. Travel Group, is concerned about what the latest Visit Jersey stats indicate. Mr Mackenzie told Express: “The main concern I would have with the figures is that, between January and May, it appears that the total number of bed nights for those visiting on holiday was down by 24%."

Pictured: Robert Mackenzie, Managing Director of C.I. Travel Group described these figures as "worrying".

“For me, that is a concern because obviously, one of the key strands of the Visit Jersey strategy has been to seek to extend the season and to attract more visitors during the shoulder and low-season period, which obviously these figures from January to May would cover. 

“If we have seen a drop of almost a quarter in the number of bed nights for holiday and short break takers then one has to question whether the policy we’ve been following to try and attract people during those periods is the right one. It’s obviously a great shame that we don’t appear to have been successful in achieving that.”

So, is it a minor blip or an indicator of a trend? Mr Mackenzie said: "It’s a bit difficult to say and we’d need probably to see what the figures are like towards the end of the year to get a real understanding of what the trend is. Certainly, these figures for the first five months of the year are worrying."