The Bay beat off competition from beaches at St Ives and Newquay and sandy shores further afield in Spain, Portugal and Italy to become the 14th best beach in Europe according to Trip Advisor travellers.

St Brelade Constable Steve Pallett said having a beach of this standard is really important for the Island to build on its tourism offering.

He said: “I’m not surprised at all. If you go down and have a look at it, it’s looking as good as it’s ever looked. It really is a delight to see the quality of the beach and the environment down there and it’s one that’s unique and we need to protect. We’ve been lucky to have investment from hotels and restaurants down there and it’s really pleasing to see it’s ranked so highly, it really is.

“A lot of our marketing has been based on our outdoor activity, we are not going to bring back the bucket and spade brigade but we are looking for people who want to come to where there are good beaches, good quality bathing water. Our nature and our environment is something we have to push hard, our coast, our walks.

“I’ve been to places like Australia and you won’t find better, our beaches are really beautiful beaches.”

Shell Beach in Herm was voted the 23rd best in the UK while Brazil’s Baia do Sancho was voted the best in the world.

You can see more of the results of the Trip Advisor survey here:

Top ten UK beaches

  • 1 Woolacombe Beach, Devon
  • 2 Weymouth Beach, Dorset
  • 3 Rhossili Bay, Gower Peninsula, south Wales
  • 4 St Brelade’s Bay Beach, Jersey
  • 5 Porthminster Beach, St Ives, Cornwall
  • 6 Perranporth Beach, Cornwall,
  • 7 Fistral Beach, Newquay, Cornwall
  • 8 Luskentyre, Isle of Harris
  • 9 Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth, Dorset
  • 10 Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset

Top 20 European beaches

  • 1 Rabbit Beach, Lampedusa, Italy
  • 2 Playa de Ses Illetes, Formentera, Spain
  • 3 Elafonissi Beach, Elafonissi, Greece
  • 4 Woolacombe Beach, UK
  • 5 Iztuzu Beach, Dalyan, Turkey
  • 6 Fig Tree Bay, Protaras, Cyprus
  • 7 Cala Rossa, Favignana, Italy
  • 8 Weymouth Beach, UK
  • 9 Eggremni Beach, Lefkada, Greece
  • 10 Playa de Bolonia, Tarifa, Spain
  • 11 Rhossili Bay, UK
  • 12 Balos Beach and Lagoon, Kissamos, Crete
  • 13 St Pauls Bay, Lindos, Greece
  • 14 St. Brelade’s Bay Beach, Jersey
  • 15 Playa de las Catedrales, Ribadeo, Spain
  • 16 La Pelosa Beach, Stintino, Italy
  • 17 La Concha Beach, San Sebastian, Spain
  • 18 Porthminster Beach, St Ives, UK
  • 19 Cala Mariolu, Baunei, Sardinia
  • 20 Praia Dona Ana, Lagos, Portugal