Over 170 years of experience walking out the door at Tourism

Monday 02 March 2015

The new company charged with attracting more visitors to Jersey will miss out on almost two centuries of local industry knowledge.

It is understood that the majority of staff at Jersey Tourism have either chosen not to apply for a job at the new organisation, or have not been selected for one; and some have accepted jobs elsewhere in the States.

In particular, Bailiwick Express understands that not one member of staff at the front-line Visitor Centre at Liberty Wharf will be moving to the new body. Some have been offered roles but have turned them down after failing to agree terms and conditions.

Jersey Tourism is closing at the end of March to be replaced by an independent but States-funded body called Visit Jersey. 

A source described the process of winding down Jersey Tourism as "very upsetting and stressful" and said staff felt badly let down:

“Last year staff were suddenly told that there had been a ‘catastrophic failure’ at Tourism but they had never been told that they were doing a bad job. They said it felt like a public humiliation and since then it’s been like waiting on death row.

“There is so much experience at Tourism - and people who care passionately about Jersey and what it offers - but all that is being lost, at a time when tourist numbers are actually starting to improve.

“Visit Jersey might have bold targets to boost numbers over 30 years – but they are yet to answer the difficult question, which is ‘how?’”

Visit Jersey Chairman John Henwood said he had no doubt that the transition had been "terribly difficult" for staff.

“If people have declined the offer of job then there is nothing I can do,” he said. “But Visit Jersey is a small private sector company and we have benchmarked our jobs against the market. We simply cannot afford to offer a final salary pension scheme nor can we afford the same employment costs as the States."

On the loss of such experience, he said: “We have a new Chief Executive who has vast experience of the industry and 14,000 people employed in hospitality in Jersey who could come to work for Visit Jersey.

“We have seen a 40 per cent decline in visitors over the last 15 years so something has to change. Visit Jersey is a clean slate and the Chief Executive [Keith Beecham] will write a new strategy once he has arrived in April."

Mr Henwood added that Visit Jersey would be advertising for all vacant jobs ‘imminently’.