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DIGEST: What do June visitor numbers tell us about tourism recovery?

DIGEST: What do June visitor numbers tell us about tourism recovery?

Wednesday 04 September 2024

DIGEST: What do June visitor numbers tell us about tourism recovery?

Wednesday 04 September 2024


Visitor figures for June 2024 have been revealed in the latest Passenger Exit Survey. What do they tell us about Jersey’s travel and tourism industry?

Visit Jersey and marketing research consultancy firm 4insight have published the latest visitor figures for June 2024.

The Passenger Exit Survey reveals the number of visitors Jersey welcomed, the nature of their stay, the length they were here and where people were visiting from in June 2024.

The data is gathered by two means: the Passenger Calibration Survey, a short set of questions to passengers departing the island, and the Visitor Exit Survey, a longer, more detailed survey about passengers' characteristics like age, what they look for in a travel experience and a rating of their stay.

It provides comparisons to the month of June in previous years, with 2019 being a benchmark year for the travel industry as it was not impacted by the pandemic.

With the summer months known to be Jersey’s most popular time for tourists, Express took a look at the key findings from June's report... 

Covid cloud remains

The data shows some positive movement in the number of visitors to Jersey – figures rose 7% from June last year and have been increasing year-on-year since the covid-19 pandemic.

But, perhaps unsurprisingly, the island is still failing to reach pre-pandemic visitor levels. The latest figures are four-fifths (-22%) of the total number of visitors in June 2019.

There has been a slight change in why people visit too. Since June 2023, business visits decreased by 11% to 5,390, leisure increased by 12% to 48,510, and visiting friends or relatives increased by 9% to 10,900.

Visit_reasons_-_PES_June_2024.jpgPictured: Business visits are down but visits for leisure and seeing friends and family are up.

The report indicates which visit-types or industries have been affected most by the reduced number of visitors since June 2019. Overall, business visits have decreased by 14%, leisure visits decreased by 10%, and visits to see friends or relatives have seen slight growth at 8% compared to pre-pandemic figures.

Overnight visits saw some growth at 4%, while day visits jumped by 25%.

Air traveller figures remained similar to last year, but Jersey welcomed 11% more ferry travellers in June of this year. 

Flying visit

The number of visitors to the island may be steadily growing, but they’re not staying for as long as they used to.

Average_nights_-_PES_June_2024.jpgPictured: June 2024 saw the shortest average stays since 2017.

Visitors staying more than one night are opting for shorter stays of around 4.5 days, making 2024 the year with the shortest average stay in June since 2017. The report states that this is in part due to the declining seven-night market.

The average number of nights spent by leisure visitors is also at its lowest level since at least 2017, showing a 2% decline.

Same places, different stories

Jersey is still seeing visitors from the same jurisdictions as previous years.

Visits from UK tourists saw a slight increase of 5% to 46,230, but this is 82% of the June 2019 level and they're spending less days on island – the average stay is down by 3%.

Visits_by_country_-_PES_June_2024.jpg

Pictured: UK, French and German tourists differ in how they spend their time in Jersey.

However, French visitors decreased slightly to 9,950, but they’re spending significantly more time here. Their average stay increased by more than half (55%) since June of last year.

Visitors from Germany jumped by 40% since the same period, making it the second month of rising numbers since the charter flights between Germany and Jersey began for this season.

Click HERE to read the full report

READ MORE...

Rise in visitors in 2023 – but Jersey still falling short on 2019 levels

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