Copyright jerseyeveningpost
THE rate of inflation in Jersey now stands at 2.8% – up from the previous quarter’s 2.6% – with price rises driven by increasing motoring and leisure costs. The 0.2 percentage-point increase between June and last month means that prices rose faster in the 12 months to September than they did in the 12 months to June. This time last year, the inflation rate, officially called the retail price index, was 3%. Motoring – which includes vehicles, fuel and insurance – and leisure services – which includes entertainment, sport and leisure fees, and off-Island holidays – each contributed +0.5 pp to the rate. Food costs increased by 3.6%, contributing +0.4 pp to the overall rate of inflation. Housing costs fell over the 12 months to September, but by less than over the 12 months to June 2025, resulting in an upward contribution of +0.2 pp to the change in the annual rate of increase. Jersey’s headline inflation rate was 1.3 pp lower than the UK’s comparable measure. The latest RPI figures – produced by Statistics Jersey – also separate inflation figures for different items Islanders spend their money on. The cost of tobacco is rising faster than anything else in Jersey at 8.6%. Next is leisure services at 5.7%, followed by motoring (5.4%), fares and other travel (5.4%), alcoholic drinks (4.9%), personal goods and services (4.6%), catering (4.3%) and food (3.6%). RPI (X) which excludes mortgage interest payments, and the RPI for low-income households both increased by 4%. The RPI for pensioners rose by 4.1%. Reflecting on how the cost of a holiday might have driven up inflation, Robert Mackenzie, managing director of CI Travel Group, said: “There has been a lot of commentary about the increasing cost of a holiday for people in the UK and with many Islanders booking through UK firms and airlines, that inflationary pressure is the same. “We offer direct flights; however, our average price has increased because our costs have gone up – from airlines, from overseas hotels etc – and we have had to incorporate those costs into our prices. “As a company, we remain cognisant that we need to offer competitive prices and try to be as affordable as possible. We have a particular focus on families, which is why we are offering bigger discounts for children, which also cover the school holidays. “I am not saying that it isn’t more expensive in the holidays but we try to offset that with bigger discounts for kids because families tend to feel the impact of inflation the most. He added: “We have still had an extremely successful year at Fly Direct and demand shows no sign of slowing. We have retained our destinations for 2026 – Malaga in the spring and autumn, Majorca, the Algarve and Ibiza in the summer, and Tenerife this winter – but we plan to introduce new destinations in 2027.”
