Three jobs to go as £220,000 conference bureau closes

Monday 09 February 2015

The sharp decline in major conferences being hosted in Jersey has led to the closure of the Jersey Conference Bureau and its three staff facing the loss of their jobs.

The move is being made as part of the reforms to the old Tourism department that are creating a new body called Visit Jersey to promote and market the Island and turnaround the long-term decline in the tourism sector.

Visit Jersey interim chief executive Kevin Keen has confirmed that the Jersey Conference Bureau – a public-private partnership that receives £220,000 funding per year – is being wound up, and its work is being taken over by Visit Jersey.

In a report last year, it was revealed that the number of people coming to Jersey for conferences had dropped dramatically, with a 32% year-on-year decline in the number of delegates and a 45% year-on-year decline in the amount that they spent.

It was also revealed that while the taxpayer was still funding the bureau to the tune of £220,000 per year, the amount of funding from the private sector had dropped to below £46,000 – a long way from the £100,000 that they were meant to be investing.

“The volumes of conferences have gone down and down,” said Mr Keen.

“Tourism has declined by 40% in the last few years – that’s why all of this is happening, because we could not carry on as we were, particularly with conferences.

“It is correct to say that the Jersey Conference Bureau is being wound up and that the States is meeting the winding-up costs of that.”