11 Feb 2009

Leaders of the Tourism industry are meeting monthly to monitor the performance of the sector against prevailing economic conditions throughout the main leisure booking season. This last task force meeting also considered the work being undertaken in France and Germany and received presentations from Tourism representatives in those countries. For this reason the number of attendees was increased from the usual 20 to about 40 to include those businesses which specialise in the European market. Business houses attending are listed below.

Current market performance

The broad anecdotal view expressed by members was that Jersey appears to be down against business levels recorded last year. Various views about the level but probably something between 10 and 20%. However this needs to be seen in the context of enquiry levels which are significantly higher than in 2008 .This leads to a view that Jersey is not converting enquiries into business and perhaps consumers are waiting for deals. We are doing some research on this issue.

There was no real consensus about what might be done and when, other than additional expenditure of more money by the States for extended marketing campaigns. Members were reminded that additional resources could be deployed but that these should be matched funded by industry although the ratio of this funding could be negotiable.

Various other points were suggested, including free distribution of Jersey Pass [ paid from Tourism budget, staff to visit members of the industry to up sell joint marketing products, and use of the Tourism Development Fund. TV was considered to be the most important medium, some felt that a continuation of the current campaign would be most effective whilst there was also support for running additional TV later in the Spring as we did last year.

The outcome of this discussion was a proposal from the Tourism management team that a proposal for additional marketing would be prepared for the Spring period which we considered to be the most appropriate to meet the market challenge and which would contain opportunities for industry financial support.

The External Market

The meeting received a report on market conditions in the UK which had been reported through the national tourism office Visitbritain. In summary:

Growth being experienced to non Euro currency destinations such as Turkey and Egypt.
Mass market tourism ex UK down by 20-25%
Guaranteed sunshine a strong feature in holiday taking decisions.
A value campaign proposed by Industry in the UK with a price tag of £6.5m is unlikely to get matched funding from the UK government [ unlike Jersey where Government money is already on the table awaiting industry support:
Business tourism hardest hit, declines of circa 28%
Add value rather than reduce prices, but customers looking for and expecting deals.
The British have not lost their appetite for holidays but are being cautious in their spending at the moment.
Secondary spend more at risk than main holiday expenditure.
More research being undertaken by consumers.
Consumers are cutting expenditure not the quality of experience which they are seeking.
The perceived barriers to holidaying in Britain are cost, weather and quality.
Advocacy will continue to grow, ' trip advisor' for example.
Competition increasing from more unlikely destinations, growth in 2008 included Albania, Indonesia, Turkey, Uruguay and Jordan.
What you do is becoming more important than where you do it. Authenticity matters.
Britons will rediscover the UK this year, but will be seeking value and a great experience.

The French Market

A programme of qualitative market research has been undertaken in France at the beginning of this year to evaluate attitudes to Jersey and to review the creative materials which are deployed to attract visitors particularly from the West France region.
This research was undertaken in co-operation with the French arm of Condor Ferries.
The summary of this research is that Jersey is often perceived by potential visitors as too similar to the offshore Northern Breton islands with insufficient distinctive character of its own. These perceptions have been accentuated by the use of imagery which tends to enhance the Continental atmosphere of Jersey rather than the Britishness.
This will be addressed with new creative material which is being prepared for this Summer, which will attempt to bring out the sophistication of Jersey and the broad range of interesting activities to do.
The value of the £ is an advantage for 2009 but Jersey is still perceived as an expensive destination, with the French not favouring the practice of charging per person for accommodation rather than per room. Additional support will be deployed in the French market this year both to offset the reducing spending power of the £ and to take advantage of the huge range of ferry transport on offer.
France is currently a growth market and the early signs with day excursionists are positive for this year.
The meeting received a very positive update on the Tour de Bretagne which if sponsorship is forthcoming will be returning to Jersey in 2010 and which has massive popularity in the region. The Jersey visit has been sanctioned by the President of Region Bretagne, Jean Yves LeDrean and will attract huge media coverage

The German Market

A presentation of the market status was given by Kiki Muller, Jersey's representative in Frankfurt.
The German market is going into recession and similar economic problems are being faced as in the UK and France.
Approximately 50% of German staying visitors travel by direct air services which in 2009 will be two scheduled weekly services from Düsseldorf and charters from Hanover and Frankfurt. Both Tourism and Jersey Airport have intervened with support for the carriers and charters in 2009 to ensure that the flying programme is secure.
Marketing budgets will be upheld in the Germany market for 2009 despite the low value of Sterling. The principle brand activity will be a radio campaign which started on the 2nd Feb. A full programme of trade and consumer marketing will be undertaken.
The indications are that Germans will go on holiday this year despite the economic difficulties in that country, late bookers are expected to increase and demand for special offers will increase. With this in mind the main operators have extended their early bird booking offers.

Businesses attending the Task Force meeting

Atlantic Hotel, Barnes Publishing, C.I. Travel Service, Condor Ferries, Hotel de France, Dolan Hotels, First Research, Grand Hotel, Jersey Airport, Jersey Hospitality Association, Jersey Pottery, Les Ormes Golf and Leisure, Hotel L'Horizon, Longueville Manor Hotel, Morvan Family Hotels, Premier Holidays, Seymour Hotels, Shakespeare Hotel, Au Caprice Guest House, Beausite Hotel, Bontour Agency, Cardington House, Maison de Normandie, Revere Hotel, Royal Yacht Hotel, Samares Manor, Tantivy Blue Coach Tours and The Inn Jersey.