In a week that has seen the collapse of Flybe and completed sale of Condor Ferries, Jersey Hospitality Association CEO Simon Soar reflects on the importance of local transport links and why they, and the island’s wider tourism and hospitality industries, shouldn’t be taken for granted.
‘There’s that old saying, “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” and I think that can be said of Flybe. There are a number of factors for its failure but one of them is that not enough people supported its services. Now, other airlines are stepping in to fill that gap and people are angered by what these new fares cost. But to have a business model that’s going to work, these airlines have to charge more.
‘Condor Ferries receives a lot of criticism, but what if it were to stop its passenger services and focused on freight? This is a company that has to operate according to a strict mandate from both the Jersey and Guernsey governments but it’s also a business, one with commitments to shareholders and a board of executive and non-executive directors.
‘The purpose of a business, at the end of the day, is to make money. There is no requirement for a business to provide services that meet everyone’s needs and demands. They have to make a profit to be viable and to do that they need customers.
‘This is why you can’t take local transport services for granted – they need support, and the same is true for hotels, restaurants and bars. People say, “it’s too expensive to go out.” But if an establishment is empty for most of the week then it has to make that up at weekends. So the more you support local businesses, the bigger the benefit to everyone.
‘Tourism is facing some serious challenges right now, and if people don’t want to travel, what they can do is support the tourism industry at home. If you don’t use it, you lose it.’
