Select a region
At Connect, we like to do things a little differently. So, when we use apposite quotes in articles such as this, we try and choose ones which haven’t just been copied and pasted from your latest “how to be a business guru in 15 seconds” type of manual. Oh no. At Connect, we like to cast our net a little wider, and really explore the dense and wild margins of the business lexicon. And who did we find lurking there, plotting an imminent return from 1980’s music super-stardom (ahem)? Let me re-introduce Derek William Dick, erstwhile singer of progressive rock band Marillion. No, don’t turn the page, if you’ve got this far, here comes the link to Connect.
“The problem always seems to be the picking up the pieces of the ricochet”
Or, in other words which are perhaps more common in a business magazine, if a little less punchy: be careful of the law of unintended consequences.
And there, dear reader, is where I would like to open our performance for this month.
From stage left, please welcome the ministers (no, we’re not back to 80’s progressive rock) who talk about Jersey being open for business, and helping businesses to keep their prices low, while at the same time introducing new charges for employing non- local staff, for disposing of liquid and solid waste, and for development work. Watch the dance, don’t listen to the words.
And from stage right, a broad cross-section of local businesses, chief amongst them hoteliers and restaurateurs who ask how can they hit the industry’s target of bringing in one million visitors a year by 2030, and convince the island to love tourism (or perhaps itself) again, when the morning post delivers ever more government bills? For them, the ‘ricochet’ is a weakened tourism sector, at a time when it was just getting back on its feet.
In this issue of Connect, page 16, the new President of the Chamber of Commerce, Eliot Lincoln, sets out their arguments, as well as what he plans for Chamber in the next two years as it achieves its 250th anniversary.
While we’re on the subject of fishy issues (c’mon, make the link) there is another character in this month’s performance who warrants special mention - the Fool. This time (if you can believe it) he is firmly in the same troupe as the ministers, as they try and reform arrangements for taxis and cabs. Have a read through his words on page 26, look over your shoulder, and let us have your observations.
And if that stage isn’t big enough for you, how about the broad skies around the Channel Islands themselves? It’s a fascinating time in the skies above us, as various companies, with different operating models, propose new ways of getting us island-hopping again - they all sense there is an opportunity there, opening the intriguing question of which one has the right plan? We take a look at the options on page 5.
Strap yourself in, select Connect from the seat pocket in front of you, and enjoy.
