Guernsey’s 10-year game plan for tourism

VISIT GUERNSEY’S marketing and tourism chief, Mike Hopkins, director, marketing & tourism, #VisitGuernsey, outlines the main goals of the island’s ten-year tourism strategy. 

Targets: ‘In 2015, we are aiming for 320,000 visitors with a GDP contribution of £4 million, rising to 350,000 (£14.8 million) in 2020 and 400,000 (£32.8 million) in 2025. Our vision is to be a top destination of choice, ensuring that every visitor is delighted with their trip to Guernsey.’

Cruises: ‘More than 110 cruise liners stop in Guernsey each year – that’s 130,000 passengers coming on shore to explore the island. It’s a market we are trying to target by encouraging these cruise visitors to come back for a holiday on the island at a later date.’

Getting there: ‘Most scheduled flights to and from Guernsey are operated by Guernsey-based airlines – Aurigny and Blue Islands – but UK-based Flybe operates services from many major gateways across the UK, too. In 2014, 60% of visitors travelled by air and 34% by sea. The new Condor Ferries three-hour service from Poole, Dorset, to Guernsey, operated by the Austal 102 trimaran is definitely good news for the island. We are also receiving more air charter services from European destinations such as Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. One of our key strategic aims is to evaluate new sustainable and competitively priced routes from the UK and Europe to the islands.’

Essential islands: ‘Our strategic aims broadly focus on strengthening the unique product offering of Guernsey and smaller islands such as Alderney, Sark and Herm. One focus will be to promote the entire Channel Islands experience through ‘better together’ messaging, demonstrating what all the islands have to offer. We also feel the island-hopping experience is a USP that is currently under-exploited.’

*Almost 90% of visitors to Guernsey are from just places: 70% from the UK, 11% from Jersey, and 8% from France. Approximately 5% of visitors are from Germany, and 1% from The Netherlands.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22446827@N02/7353938538">Nr Jerbourg Point on Guernsey</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)