More holidaymakers, but fewer visitors overall

Friday 07 July 2017

The total number of visitors has dropped by 3% in the first five months of this year, from 219,700 to 213,200, according to an exit survey by Visit Jersey.

In detail, the number of visitors coming for leisure purposes has gone up while the number of visits for business, or to visit family and friends have decreased by 11% and 24% respectively.

During the period January to May 2017, nearly two-thirds of visits, 63%, were made by holiday visitors, an increase of 11% compared to 2016. 14% were visiting for business reasons and 16% to spend time with friends and relatives.

Visitors came overwhelmingly from the UK (70%) while one-in-seven visitors were from France and 7% were residents of Guernsey. 

In May alone, there were an estimated 75,500 visits to Jersey, generating almost 293,000 visitor nights on the island.

Across all trip purposes during the first five months of 2017 41% of visitors were making their first visit to Jersey, but when looking just at holiday visitors this proportion increases to 51%. Last year, 44% of visitors were coming to the island for the first time.

Visitors to the island are still preferring the plane to the ferry as a mode of travel. Less than 100,000 chose to travel by sea over the first five months, with the volume of ferry passengers taking a 14% dip last year - but Condor Ferries announced in May that bookings were ahead by 19%, 11% from France and 81% for Inter-Island routes.