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VISITOR numbers have continued to tumble – with August tourists a fifth down on last year – bringing a difficult summer for the Island’s hospitality industry to a close. In August – traditionally the high point of the tourist season – 71,100 people visited the Island, 20% down on the same month in 2024, when 93,500 people arrived. The biggest percentage drop was in daytrips, which were 46% down on last August, with 6,400 fewer day visitors this August. Meanwhile, overnight visitors were down by 12,000 people from 79,700 in August 2024 to 67,700 (-15%) this year. Commenting on the figures, Jersey Hospitality Association co-chief executive officer Marcus Calvani said that the figures were undeniably low, but the official statistics might not be giving the full picture. And he hit out at the government’s “apparent complete disregard” for the tourism trade after cuts to the Visit Jersey budget. He said: “I am a strong advocate of saying that nothing should be painted rosy when it is not rosy. “The visitor numbers are down without question, and that is not good. Our members would have experienced this in different ways: some are up; some are down. “However, the statistics are taken from a small sample of data which don’t necessarily represent reality, and we are working hard with Visit Jersey to come up with a different solution which removes the reliance of these small data sets. “We certainly don’t question why the process is the way it is, and this method of data collection is used in the UK, but we are supporting Visit Jersey as they reevaluate the data these figures are based on. “For example, collecting data early in the morning will skew its analysis towards the business traveller and away from leisure visitors. The statistics have to reset; and hopefully they will be more accurate next year.” Mr Calvani added that a high percentage of Jersey’s newer hotels provided data to a respected data analyser called Smith Travel Research, which taps into digital reservations systems. He said that their analysis suggested visitor numbers are down 7%, so it could be the case that businesses that have not modernised were the ones who had experienced the greatest impact. However, he added: “That all said, we remain deeply concerned about the state of the industry, in particular our government’s apparent complete disregard of it. “The Chief Minister has promised to increase the budget of Visit Jersey but instead we are seeing a decrease in next year’s proposed budget. “Europe as a whole has had a horrific season, so we cannot just blame the new ferry service, but we would have had less of a downturn had Visit Jersey’s budget kept up. “Right now, this is the lowest level of optimism we have had as an industry, including during the pandemic. “As an association, we have the largest number of members we have ever had, and there is a unanimous feeling that there is too much bureaucracy, red tape and silo-working, which is causing excessive damage to the industry. “Without hospitality, there is reduced connectivity, and load factors on aircraft at the moment are worrying low.” By travel type, air passengers to Jersey were down from 54,200 last August to 46,500 (-14%) while sea passengers were down from 39,200 to 28,500 (-27%). There were an estimated 47,100 overnight leisure visits this August, 12,500 fewer than in August 2024 (-21%). Looking at the first eight months of 2025, up to the end of August, an estimated 339,200 visits to Jersey were made, 68,400 fewer than in 2024 (-17%). This included 300,000 overnight stays, down 57,900 or -16% on the same eight months in 2024; and 39,200 daytrips (down 10,600, or -21%). By travel type, there were 235,800 visits by air passengers to Jersey between January and August, a 12% fall from 269,000 in 2024. There were 103,400 passengers arriving by sea compared to 138,700 in 2024, a 35,300, or 25% reduction compared to January – August 2024. These included 202,800 holidaymakers (-25% or 67,100 fewer than in 2024); 70,200 people visiting friends or family (-9% or 6,600 fewer than in 2024), 40,700 business travellers (a 16% increase, or 5,500 more than in 2024); and 25,500 listed as ‘other’, which was -1%, or 200 fewer than 2024. Guernsey produces quarterly visitor statistics, with the third quarter – covering June, July and August – are yet to be published. However, figures from ferry operator Condor show that passenger numbers on the company’s direct services from Poole, Portsmouth and St Malo to Guernsey combined, for the period 1 April to 31 August, were up by 38,522 – an increase of 28.9% compared with the same period last year. The most notable growth was from St Malo, where traffic was up by 59.2%. Condor said that Guernsey’s share of the Channel Islands’ market from St Malo had risen to more than 40% compared with 20% in 2024. Returning to Jersey’s recently published figures, when it comes to country of residence, 235,000 passengers from the UK came to Jersey between January and August, compared to 272,500 over the first eight months of 2024. That represents a 14% decline. 42,600 arrivals were from France compared to 71,900 in 2024 – a 41% decline. 20,600 passengers who live in the other Channel Islands came to Jerssy between January and August this year compared to 24,600 over the same period in 2024, a 16% fall. 13,100 visitors came from Germany, a 14% increase, or 1,700 passengers, on 2024. There were an estimated 177,200 overnight leisure visits in the year to August 2025, 53,000 fewer than in August 2024, a 23% fall.
