The total number of staying visitors in Guernsey increased by 5% in quarter 4 2018 compared with the same period in 2017 (+1,810 visitors), according to Guernsey's Office of the Committee for Economic Development, with the number of visitors staying for leisure purposes increasing by 10%.
Total departing visitors (including cruise passengers and visiting yachtsmen) stood at 44,122 during the quarter, a decrease of 2.5%. This fall was due to a cruise ship cancellation in the quarter, caused by poor weather conditions, along with fewer visitors from yachts visiting between October and December.
Total departing visitors excluding cruise passengers and visiting yachtsmen remained stable at 43,581 – with a slight increase of 110 visitors compared with Q4 2017.
For the 2018 full calendar year, total visitors increased slightly to 420,140 (+639 visitors) versus January-December 2017. This was driven by a strong growth in cruise passengers of 10% (+10,688).
Excluding passengers on cruise ships and visiting yachts, there were 280,475 departing visitors, a decrease of 3% (-9,270 visitors) compared with 2017. This was mainly caused by a fall in passengers travelling by ferry of 9% (-8,984 visitors) across the year.
Other Q4 2018 highlights
• Total staying visitors increased by 5% versus the same period in 2017, with 37,506 visitors staying for one night or more in Guernsey during the fourth quarter.
• Excluding cruise passengers and visiting yachtsmen, visitor numbers remained stable (43,581 in Q4 2018 versus 43,471 in Q4 2017); including cruise passengers and visiting yachtsmen, total numbers fell by 2.5% from October to December 2018 (1,119 fewer visitors than during Q4 2017).
• Visitors staying in commercial accommodation remained stable at 24,323 and overall bed nights increased by 2%.
• Day visitors for business purposes increased by 9% but this was not enough to counter the sharp drop in day visitors travelling for leisure purposes (-40%), meaning a drop in overall day visitors during the quarter of 21%.
• Visitors from the UK remained stable at 33,989, visitors from France increased by 14% and visitors from Jersey increased by 5%. Numbers of visitors from elsewhere fell by 4%.
• Visitors travelling by air increased by 2% during the quarter (+528 visitors); those travelling by ferry sea travel decreased by -5% (-418 visitors).
Perspectives
Deputy Dawn Tindall, member of the Committee for Economic Development, said: “Early indications for the 2019 season are positive, with tour operators claiming forward bookings are 20% higher on average than the same period last year.
“It is good to see positive signs of recovery in the last quarter of the year, with high-value staying visitors showing healthy growth, along with an increase in French visitors compared with the last quarter of 2017.
“Despite the total volume of air travel seeing a decline last year, it is encouraging that the volume of visitors travelling by air remained stable in 2018. The Open Skies policy introduced last year has borne fruit with the introduction of new air routes into Guernsey planned for 2019, including services from Liverpool and Southend from Flybe (Blue Islands), Bournemouth and Edinburgh from Loganair and a new seasonal service from Groningen in the Netherlands from Sunair (operated by Blue Islands)."