VisitGuernsey has been working on plans for a staycation campaign, encouraging islanders to holiday within the Bailiwick.
The Committee for Economic Development, through VisitGuernsey, is also looking ahead to the 2021 season and how it will return to the wider European and global market, and it is working with a tourism taskforce made up of industry representatives.
‘The quicker we can re-open our economy, within the Bailiwick’s borders, there’s a lot of potential for islanders to enjoy what our local tourism sector has to offer.
‘We’re keeping an open mind to “bubbling” with other jurisdictions in the future, but they will need to be in a similar position to us with similar controls over their borders,’ said a spokesperson for the Policy & Resources Committee and Committee for Economic Development.
‘There’s no escaping the fact this pandemic is having a very serious impact on our tourism sector, and even jurisdictions that intend to open their borders sooner rather than later, will see a significant drop in travel and will do far less business. We must continue to support local businesses through the support measures that were introduced early in our response and have since been expanded. All of these steps are to ensure our businesses are in the best possible position to bounce back as soon as it’s safe to do so.’
Opening the island’s borders will be one of the last stages in Guernsey’s phased ‘Exit from Lockdown.’ The idea of a Channel Islands travel ‘bubble’ has been mooted and is in discussion between Guernsey and Jersey’s governments, Jersey’s External Relations Minister, Senator Ian Gorst, said last week.
However, Guernsey’s government has said that any decision to lift travel restrictions to a particular jurisdiction will depend on the situation there, and the risk it presents to the health and lives of islanders.
‘This approach is being taken with the Island’s economy in mind too, as the risk of new clusters of cases of COVID-19, or even a “second wave” could set us back to the very first phase of ‘lockdown’, which has serious implications for all sectors.’
