With hospitality heroes honoured and the biggest turnout in years, the Jersey Hospitality Association’s (JHA) annual gala dinner and inaugural awards ceremony showed an industry at its energised and optimistic best, writes JHA CEO Simon Soar:
‘Turning the spotlight on Jersey’s hospitality industry, promoting a better understanding of what we do and highlighting our contribution to the island – these are the ambitions at the very heart of what we do at the JHA.
If there’s one thing I can take from this year’s gala dinner, and the first ever Jersey Hospitality Association Awards, it is that our work is being recognised by, and has the support of, the industry we work to represent, and that’s really heartening to see.
We had 220 people attend this year’s dinner, whereas two years ago for the JHA’s 60th birthday, we only had 180. That in itself is a massive statement of approval. We are going in the right direction.
We intended the gala and awards to be a celebration of our industry, and that’s exactly what we achieved. There was a genuine feeling among those in attendance that the award winners were all well-deserved, and we want to build on the awards’ success by hosting them again in 2020. Feedback from the night also suggests that there’s strong support for the JHA and a real buzz around what we’re trying to do.
Now we’ve got to ensure we continue to work closely with government, put forward the concerns and requirements of our colleagues, and find our next big win for the industry. We’re aware that there are a lot of challenges we face, but if we’re creative with our thinking, we can find new solutions.’
