Accidental Tourist scores Jersey 11/10

Monday 23 April 2018

Joe Hill, aka ‘The Accidental Tourist,’ has given his experience of Jersey a perfect score after islanders and businesses rallied together to give the American the best holiday he could have wished for.

Joe has been reviewing all the trips he’s been on, food he’s eaten and people he’s met on the Facebook review page that brought him to Jersey in the first place.

The American became a social media hit in the Channel Islands when he revealed that he had been reading the reviews of local businesses after he mistakenly joined the ‘Good or Bad Jersey Business’ Facebook page thinking it was for New Jersey in America, prompting followers of the local page to contribute to bringing him over to experience the food and culture himself first hand.

Not only have islanders clubbed together to fund his trip, but they’ve also offered Joe and his girlfriend Amanda Rose, private trips to attractions, free meals and drink events to meet the locals, which left a lasting impression on them.

“Everyone has been super friendly and everything is gorgeous. It seems like every part of the island is very different and we’ve had a lot of generous offers of free food and a free boat ride and hotel so it’s all been amazing,” said Joe.

Pictured: Joe has been reviewing his experiences in Jersey and giving them a score on the Facebook reviewing page that brought him here.

On his first day in Jersey – which is Joe’s first holiday outside of America – he told Express of his desire to see wild dolphins and a castle, experiences he’s never had the pleasure of before.

Through the kindness of islanders, he’s fulfilled his wishes and saw seven dolphins including a small baby one and seals on a boat trip to Les Ecrehous and visited Gorey castle. Joe has kept his promise of reviewing each experience on the local business review Facebook page and has even adopted the island’s love/hate relationship with seagulls by commenting on how many he’s encountered.

Joe and Amanda have been treated like celebrities with invitations to restaurants, which have left them with the opinion that our food is something to be proud of; “It all seems so much healthier here and it tastes better. The best fish I had was at Faulkner Fisheries, the first place we went for fish, that was so good, I’ve probably had fish and chips five times this week.”

Pictured: Islanders including Charlotte Volante have got photos with Joe, as he's become a bit of a celebrity since hotelier Alex Dolan instigated the crowdfunding page to get Joe over. 

It’s also been a great experience for Joe to finally meet the people who brought him over and explain Jersey’s culture to him; “It’s surreal, it’s strange because I feel like I knew them before I got here as some of them I’ve been talking to consistently for like four or five months.”

Tim Evans, an owner of Pizza Projekt, was one of those in social media ‘communication’ with Joe and who chipped in to the crowdfunding initiative.

“I saw his original post on ‘good business bad business jersey’ [page] which I follow on occasion and thought it was hilarious that he suddenly realised that he was looking at stuff that was from somewhere that was completely removed from where he lived, and so I’d been following it a little bit and thought it would be good fun to try and get him along and meet him as I think it’s brilliant,” said Tim

“I always think when you go away and you meet Americans and you say you’re from Jersey they think it’s New Jersey and you’re like ‘no old Jersey’ and I think it’s quite fun and it’s good to show people where the word Jersey came from.”

Pictured: Joe met business owners including Tim Evans from Pizza Projekt who chipped in to Joe's visit. 

It’s certainly getting Jersey on the map as America has got wind of the ‘Accidental Tourist’ story; “I think I may be in the local paper in Plymouth [in Massachusetts] where I’m from. I live in a pretty big town, about 65,000 people and a lot of them have been messaging me about it. I think I’m in better favour with my distant relatives now,” joked Joe.

Joe admits he is behind on his Facebook reviews but promises to let islanders know his recommendations even after he’s left. Although he won’t be able to decide what was the best part of his holiday.

“It seems like every aspect of this island I like more than where I come from, they might be mad at me for saying that. The best part has just been all of it.

“Overall I score it 11 out of 10, it’s amazing – a perfect score.”