After releasing a statement last week asking for Jersey to open its borders to visitors, Simon Soar of the Jersey Hospitality Association explains why he went public with the appeal and what the feedback has been like so far.
‘Last week, I released a statement to the media, on behalf of the JHA, calling for inbound visitors to be allowed to come here as soon as possible in order to save the island’s tourism and hospitality industries.
‘I felt it was necessary to do because, quite simply, our industry is under threat. The island’s visitor economy is in free fall and I want people to understand that if we don’t find ways to protect tourism in Jersey, our visitor economy will be permanently damaged.
‘If we allow the closures of businesses to take place, we are not coming back from that. Once a hotel becomes a block of flats, you can’t turn it back into a hotel again.’
‘Our harvest has failed – how can we salvage it?’
‘Many of our members supported my statement because they are seriously concerned that we are now eating into the summer season. If we do open, what’s the capacity going to be? If it’s going to be a quarter capacity, how are we going to deal with that? How do you survive the winter if your harvest has failed? Well, our harvest is failing, so how can we salvage it?
‘Our members are also concerned about staff. Do we retain them throughout winter? Do we let them go and risk not being able to recruit come spring time next year?
‘With all of these concerns, I think members understood why we released the statement. The public, I think, are harder to convince of the need to allow visitors in, and that’s understandable. But I want to stress, we don’t want any action taken that will jeopardise public health or endanger Jersey’s exit from lockdown.
‘At the same time, what’s the point of having a safe island if the economy has failed and the quality of life has dwindled? I think Kevin Keen said something along the lines of “We have more businesses in intensive care than people right now.” That sums it up brilliantly.’