Jersey strategy seeks more boutique cruise ship visits
Ports of Jersey aims to increase annual calls while focusing on ships suited to anchoring in St Aubin’s Bay.
Jersey currently receives around ten cruise ships each year, but a new strategy could raise that total to as many as thirty.
Ports of Jersey commissioned cruise industry specialist Dr Jennifer Holland to examine the sector’s future in Jersey. Her report identified boutique cruise ships as the ideal vessels to pursue. These ships carry between five hundred and one thousand passengers, typically measure around two hundred metres and can anchor in St Aubin’s Bay.
Ports of Jersey estimates that passengers spend about seventy pounds each per day in Jersey, with a wider economic impact of one hundred and sixty pounds per person. It says as many as thirty thousand passengers could generate about two million, one hundred thousand pounds in direct spending, produce a broader economic impact of between three million, six hundred thousand pounds and four million, eight hundred thousand pounds, and support around fifteen new jobs.
Bill Sadler said plans for the coming year include reconnecting with Cruise Britain, revitalizing the Cruise Jersey brand and collaborating with Visit Jersey and local ship agents. The report also calls for promotion at trade events, coverage in the UK travel press and stronger relationships with French Atlantic ports over the next one to two years.
Sadler proposed a five-day itinerary involving Cherbourg, Guernsey, Jersey and St Malo, with Brest as a possible additional stop.