VisitGuernsey has warned that August is “a concern” for some in the tourism sector with an increased number of website views not transferring into bookings in the island.
Data drawn from the Spring months shows that the Liberation 80 events didn’t attract any more visitors to the island than last year’s more low key celebrations.
That trend is expected to continue through the school summer holiday period, and VisitGuernsey said it is working with industry groups to work out why that is.
In a ‘trade update’, VisitGuernsey said over the past year, its website has had 14% more hits than the year before, with ‘partner referrals’ up 21%.
“Despite this positive trend, and increased air and ferry passenger movements, it is apparent that challenges remain within the sector,” the States body warned.
“August in particular is still a concern for some,” it added.
Aside from the school summer holiday period – a traditionally busy time for hotels and other tourism reliant businesses – VisitGuernsey has confirmed the statistics for April and May this year.
“Occupancy for May 2025 is in and, while higher than April, it is level with May 2024 at 74%, when excluding long stay guests,” it said.
“This is despite a bumper week for accommodation providers around Liberation Day and the half term break at the end of the month.”
The Liberation 80 commemorations and celebrations saw tens of thousands of people attend events across the Bailiwick, but it didn’t attract any more people to the islands than the 79th anniversary events did last year.
VisitGuernsey has said it thinks different factors contributed to the static visitor numbers during the spring months.
One reason could have been the late result of plane and ferry schedules.
“We are working with industry groups to investigate why collectively the increased interest isn’t converting into bookings for some,” said VisitGuernsey.
“Late air and ferry schedules coming into 2025 is one relevant factor and through discussion with carrier and industry partners we expect schedules for 2026 to be released much earlier. But there are a mix of factors impacting these trends.”
