As Jersey moves to Level Two of its Safe Exit Strategy, allowing more hospitality businesses to operate, Simon Soar of the Jersey Hospitality Association gives his take on what needs to change to help the industry recover.
‘Level Two of Jersey’s Safe Exit Strategy is on the horizon and it’s a great continuation of what we have been doing. We’re happy to see a bit more movement, but with only two active cases left (at the time of publication), we feel change needs to accelerate even faster.
‘The island has done an excellent job containing the spread of the virus, and now’s the time for economic recovery.
‘We agree that caution is still vital, but the hospitality industry would like to see physical distancing reduced to just one metre, as soon as possible, because it’s got to be the biggest hurdle we face.
‘There’s a lot of disagreement, at a scientific level, over whether two metres is necessary. From our perspective, the requirement for two metres of physical distancing is having a huge impact on establishments, especial those with small premises. It’s reducing capacity and therefore reducing income.’
Staycations will not see us through
‘We know that because of travel restrictions, islanders are looking at staycations this year and that’s great for all intents and purposes. It offers the industry a good trial period to test new procedures, to make sure we know what works and what doesn’t. But it will not see us through.
‘The big question we have to look at is how we a can allow people to move in and out of our border safely, and to do this we need to look at where’s safe? France, for example, is in a good position, so is there potential to open up Jersey to French visitors? Anywhere with a low rate of infection could be a potential visitor market.
‘We’ve got to find a responsible way of going forward that builds on the progress Jersey has already made.’