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Jersey should be positioned as a "inclusive and accessible destination" with a "greater provision of accessible accommodation" and improved experiences for disabled tourists, according to a recent report... So what can we do to make that happen?
The Visitor Economy Strategy – published recently by the Government in partnership with Visit Jersey and industry representatives – sets out 48 policy priorities grouped under various strategic objectives including connectivity, accommodation, sustainability, and digitalisation.
One of the key policies of the strategy is to improve accessibility to allow the local tourism sector to "unlock the potential of the 'Purple Pound'".
The 'Purple Pound' is the term for the spending power of disabled people.
Visit England estimates that that total expenditure on tourism trips in England by those with an impairment or those travelling within a group where a member has an impairment is estimated to be £14.6bn annually.
Pictured: A Visitor Economy Strategy for Jersey has been published by the Government in partnership with industry representatives.
This is something that the Visitor Economy Strategy suggests Jersey should tap into.
The strategy explains that the island needs a "greater provision of accessible accommodation to be able to cater to the 'purple' tourism market, and better welcome those with restricted mobility or other needs".
It says that this "needs to be factored into both new developments and renovations of existing product as much as possible".
The strategy expresses a desire for Jersey to "be known as an inclusive and accessible destination and to improve the ability of all customers, including those with reduced mobility or other disabilities, to experience and enjoy our inimitable offering".
It explains that there are some examples of local organisations which do this well already – such as Healing Waves, Maison des Landes, and BeachAbility – but says that inclusivity needs to "be much more widespread across the visitor offering in future, and not just in businesses that cater specifically to this audience".
The strategy continues: "Opportunities exist to improve not only the physical access to food and beverage outlets, attractions, and experiences but also through greater use of technology and information provision to enable Jersey to open itself up to the purple tourism market."
Steve Taylor is the Chairman of The Lions Club of Jersey which helps fund and run Maison des Landes, the only fully accessible hotel in the Channel Islands.
Mr Taylor said: "We have found that the day trips from Maison des Landes are incredibly popular with our guests.
"But accessibility is more than just entry; it's about getting in, moving around, the space being useable for those with disabilities [including] dining spaces, suitable toilets, ambience."
Pictured: Maison des Landes' hotel facility in St Ouen recently underwent a two-year £3.85 million refurbishment. (Dave Ferguson)
Mr Taylor said that a "one-stop guide to accessible infrastructure in Jersey would be very beneficial for both visitors and those assisting visitors".
He explained that there is currently no way of knowing if sites in the island are accessible unless they are personally vetted by someone from Maison des Landes.
Mr Taylor described this as "off-putting" for visitors with disabilities or limited mobility.
He pointed to companies such as AccessAble, which surveys venues in the UK to provide accessibility information for potential visitors to work out if a place meets their accessibility needs.
Mr Taylor also said that more "joined-up offerings" would appeal to many visitors, such as themed holiday weeks catering to different interests.
"These will need heavy promotion," he admitted. "We have the willingness to make it happen but at the moment there isn’t a vehicle to help draw it all together."
He explained that the season for 'Purple Pound' guests is relatively short, with a dip in July and August due to having to travel through overcrowded UK airports in holiday season.
"We need to attract more guests out of season to cover the costs of operating in Jersey; weather-proof joined up offerings would help," Mr Taylor added.
He said: "Providing a quality experience for 'Purple Pound' guests is not cheap and we are not talking about providing care here.
"The supportive environment is what draws people back to Maison des Landes. We keep our costs as low as possible but combining those with travel costs starts to make holidays here expensive compared with say a cruise.
"Its more than identifying areas too improve; the real challenge is developing a joined up plan to implement the improvements – quickly!"
The Chair of BeachAbility agreed, explaining that the main issue is that "there is no central hub where people with disabilities can access everything we have to offer on the island".
"The tourism site has the information but it is not obvious or easy to access unless you are specifically looking for an activity you already know the name and existence of," explained Jane Osborne.
Pictured: BeachAbility is a local charity providing specially designed manual, ballooned wheel chairs for use on the beach and other rough terrain.
She continued: "I would like to see somewhere [or] something that made it easy for disabled visitors and locals to access everything we have with ease, as at the moment everything is booked individually and finding out about what is out there is difficult.
"As individual organisations, BeachAbility, Healing Waves, Maison des Landes and Wet Wheels are amazing but there is a lot more out there such as the new changing rooms at St Brelade and La Braye, specialised taxis, other hotels with facilities, restaurants that can meet special dietary needs – which if all put together would make such a huge difference to disabled visitors."
Dominic Booth, one of the founders of Healing Waves, said that he has "seen first hand the restrictions and barriers in place on our island for individuals with physical and neurological conditions".
He explained: "Slowly the island is improving but there are lots that still need to be done. Unfortunately, as is often the case, budgets are preventing the island from really tackling accessibility and inclusion head on.
"This is such a shame as making even small improvements will not only assist locals but tourists alike as the 'Purple Pound' is now being recognised as quite an income stream."
Pictured: Max Wiltshire, Dominic Booth and Seán Burke, the founders of Healing Waves.
Mr Booth continued: "We are now seeing a steady stream of visitors that are accessing Healing Waves, some are repeat visitors, which is great, their feedback is invaluable and we listen.
"To be fair, we do hear positive comments about the island from them and we try our best to signpost them to other accessible activities and venues.
"However, this is fairly limited but completely appreciated with the island's historic architecture that it is not always an easy task in certain areas around the island but, like I say, slowly-slowly."
Pictured: Local charity Healing Waves enables individuals to access the ocean in a safe way to experience its therapeutic benefits.
Mr Booth said that a good place to start would be "targeting easy fixes", such as transport.
"Many bus routes and stops aren't actually accessible for a wheelchair, even though the bus actually is!" he explained.
Mr Booth added: "I am aware that there are accessible taxis, which as I'm sure you can imagine aren't cheap, and mobility scooters are available to rent, but it would be great to see accessible e-bikes and other quirky ways to get around the island for wheelchair users.
"Transport on-island is important for visitors to get around but there are significant supply gaps across the year in coach transfers, hire cars, taxis and guided coach tours of the island.
"Feedback on the public bus service is very good, especially if travelling from town, but connectivity between attractions and out of town destinations leaves room for improvement."
Sean Pontin, CEO of Enable, said: "The island has over 15,000 people with a disability and that is not an up to date figure – many more when you include ‘invisible’ conditions.
"There is an absolute opportunity for Jersey to gets things right in terms of accessibility and inclusion. Yes, being a small island comes with issues, but it also brings real opportunities that we haven't tapped in to."
Pictured: Sean Pontin is the CEO of Enable, described as "Jersey's all-embracing disability charity".
He continued: "What we need is for Government to move forward from stating the obvious and ‘encouraging’ the community to ‘do the right thing’ in terms of making services and businesses accessible, and actually offer something that helps people to get advice, make changes and really make a difference.
"That means incentives and funding support."
Mr Pontin said: "We have had a Disability Strategy approved since 2017 but, to date, investment in terms of people and funds to put this into action have not been forthcoming in a meaningful way and progress has been too slow."
You can read the full Visitor Economy Strategy online HERE.
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