Fears a lack of holiday beds could impact Jersey's tourism industry

  • Video report by ITV Channel's Richard Pallot


A Jersey travel agent is warning there might not be enough beds for holiday makers visiting the island.

Robert Mackenzie, from CI Travel Group, fears there may not be enough hotel beds available to accommodate holidaymakers this summer.

It comes after a number of hotels in the island closed in the past year, to make way for housing.

"Particularly during the peak summer season those beds will run out. Great for the hoteliers who are operating and seeing the full signs up.

"But at the end of the day, we need more beds in order to be able to fill the seats that the airlines are putting on to come and fly here.

The lack of hotel beds is a problem which is continuing to affect Jersey's hospitality industry as a whole.

But one hotel owner in Jersey has said the industry needs to make use of the entire year, not just the summer season.

Lawrence Huggler, who owns the Huggler Hotel franchise which includes The Club Hotel in St Helier, has said hotels should look to the winter tourists as well as the popular summer tourists.

"I think the most important thing Jersey can do is grow it's shoulder months and get traffic more year round. It will make us a more productive industry, which is better for Jersey as a whole.

"So we need to put into proportion, yes there's going to be an issue in July and August, or rather hopefully there's going to be an issue in July and August, but there's plenty of capacity in the rest of the year that we need to work on."

However, as UK travel restrictions have lifted further this week, interest in the island as a holiday destination is already on the rise.

Visit Jersey CEO, Amanda Byrnes, has told ITV Channel that an ease in border restrictions definitely makes the island more attractive to travellers.

"I think the travel restrictions that have been announced in the UK are incredibly positive because it is very much around consumer confidence.

"Knowing that travellers don't have to have a test, particularly if you've been boosted, that provides great reassurance and we know there is so much pent up demand for travel."