As the busy period of the year comes to a close, we reflect on the figures we have been presented for the visitors this year. There has been a stronger shift towards shorter stays in the island, a trend that seems to be becoming more popular as time goes by.
Personally, I believe this is down to several factors, and not just occurring locally. The connectivity and prices we enjoy these days allows us a much better ability to travel at short notice and for short periods. We have become used to having access to information at our fingertips and can book impromptu get away, or even pick dates for short breaks away allowing for more frequent holidays.
In years gone by, a traditional 2-3-week half board holiday would have been the normal procedure for a holiday. This seems to be the case if people are looking at travelling further afield, but still allows time to have weekends away or short breaks to somewhere different. We travel to places knowing what we want to see and do thanks to destination marketing and research done by the traveller. All in all, our holiday style has changed, and we have become a generation of holidaymakers that go out with a purpose and level of expectation. This can be important for destination marketing organisations to manage properly, as the last thing we want is people arriving at a destination with a false image in their head of what the place will be like.
As our clients change, we find the need to adapt to this new demand and create experiences that suit their travel desires. Rather than just being on island and seeing the beaches etc, themes are looked at for travel with increasing focus.
Our adaptability will help us maintain business in future years and keep Jersey a vibrant and exciting place for visitors to see.
Simon Soar, CEO