From events and partnerships to research findings and workshops, we have a number of updates to share with you this month. Safe to say it’s been a busy start to the year!
If you would like more information about anything in this newsletter, or if there is anything we can do to help, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the VisitGuernsey team and we would be delighted to assist you.
Making the most of
new tourism-boosting projects
To date, eight groups have been awarded funding from the Tourism Management Board (TMB), via the Tourism Development Fund, to support a cross-section of projects aimed at bringing additional visitors to the Bailiwick.
We will now be working closely with these organisers to help them maximise their reach and improve the visitor experience.
One of these is The BoatLife Angling Championship, an international event sponsored by world-leading brands, in which Guernsey will be a stage host (for rounds 7 and 8) in November.
With more than 800,000 boat anglers in the UK alone (contributing £1.5 billion to the economy), this market provides an exciting opportunity, which a partnership with BoatLife (who have a social reach of 1.2 million) and its competitors (who have up to half a million followers each) will help us to maximise. The exposure created by the Championship will ensure that Guernsey is firmly on the map as a must-visit destination, endorsed by the best anglers in the country.
The Championship is being launched at the Boatlife Exhibition next week, where VisitGuernsey are a brand partner. For us, a key aim of this exhibition is to capture the data of Exhibition visitors (which we will be doing with a competition, in conjunction with GuernseyTravel) so that we can remarket to them in the future.
The Championship itself will bring up to 150 competitors, crew, and supporters to the Island, and we are working on a range of packages, at different price points, to attract more potential spectators.
We are also planning to stage a shore fishing competition that will encourage more visitors to the Islands, and provide added value for local residents.
Read more about all of the projects selected by the Tourism Management Board at gov.gg/tourism-projects-funding.
Q4 2023 travel and visitor
accommodation report now live
Yesterday we published the Guernsey Q4 2023 Travel and Visitor Accommodation Bulletin, which provides insights on the numbers and types of visitors to Guernsey, including their travel and accommodation choices.
Key insights include:
- Higher visitor numbers (up 11%) compared to Q4 2022. While still lower than 2019, these figures show a valuable upward trajectory.
- Four key purposes for visiting the island. Seeing friends/family was the most popular reason (32%), followed by visiting for leisure (27%). Visiting for business purposes or visiting on a cruise ship or yacht were both at 17%.
- An average stay of 4.3 nights (for visitors who stayed in Guernsey for one to 30 nights). Two thirds (66%) of visitors that stayed overnight used visitor accommodation, while 34% stayed with friends or relatives.
- Positive net promoter scores. Visitors leaving by aeroplane or ferry gave an average of 52 percentage points. Higher scores (of 67 and 65 percentage points respectively) were given by visitors seeing friends/family and visiting for leisure, while those visiting for business gave an average of 21 percentage points.
On Tuesday 20th February, we will be publishing the 2023 Guernsey Travel and Visitor Annual report, which makes annual comparisons on passenger and visitor numbers, with additional information from online Visitor Survey responses.
Help us make the most of the VisitGuernsey app
The VisitGuernsey App provides a valuable opportunity to target our younger audience and enhance their on-island experience.
The app already offers 37 walking routes and 45 bays and beaches, and in line with our strategy for 2024 and 2025, a new heritage layer is in progress. This will include five new routes (by foot, bicycle, and car) which bring our Occupation and Liberation story to life, plus another walk themed around Guernsey’s most famous women.
To help get the app in front of more visitors, we can produce a range of assets – from posters and leaflets, to in-room screen adverts – for use across a variety of locations. Please get in touch and let us know what we can produce to help you put the app in front of your visitors, and enhance their stay.
Notable change in booking patterns
Over the course of 2023, the additional visitor survey revealed that booking patterns were beginning to extend, and seem to be returning to pre-Covid behaviour.
One of the most notable changes was the increase in those booking more than 6 months ahead, from 10% in the first half of the year, to 14% in the year-long stats.
Partnership packages
In line with the booking patterns above, Q1 and Q2 are great times to promote your offering to potential new customers.
We have a number of cost-effective partnership options available, providing access to our already-engaged audiences across digital, social media and email. Partnership packages for 2024 include:
- Featured listings on our website
• Offer promotion on our social feeds
• Adverts on our blog
• Space on our consumer emailers
We have limited spots left for Q1, so please get in touch as soon as possible if you want to book.
Please get in touch with Jo Dyer if you have any questions and to book your package.
Aurigny meets sports groups
In January, we facilitated an open forum for Aurigny and a variety of sports teams to discuss collaborative ways of working together. Topics included group bookings, available rates, and travel with equipment.
The meetings had great feedback from the teams and we’re grateful for Aurigny’s support.
For anyone looking for a contact at Aurigny to discuss future sports travel, please contact Clive on Cliveacton@aurigny.com
Film premiere
Last Friday we attended the premiere of ‘The Last Flamingo of the Red Summer Sunset’, a locally produced film by Cameron Ashplant, at the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square.
On the day of the premiere, VisitGuernsey adverts were displayed on digital poster boards outside the cinema. We were also advertised above the venue, on one of the most iconic marketing boards in the UK. The area below sees an average daily footfall of 250,000.
VisitGuernsey were invited to introduce the film and show a 30-second advert showcasing the diversity of our island’s scenery, to promote Guernsey as a viable location to British TV and film location scouts, film producers, and directors.
January coverage and partnership plans
We have already received great coverage from mainstream media this year, with headlines and features in The Times, Which?, The Sun and MSN.
We also have an exciting partnership with ITV’s Wheel of Fortune, hosted by Graham Norton, which presented Guernsey as a desirable ‘prize’ location to more than 2.3 million primetime viewers on ITV (as well as additional viewers on ITVX). VisitGuernsey’s logo was included, as were references to Hand Picked Hotels and St. Pierre Park Hotel.
We’re also partnering with Outdoor Swimmer, whose audience provide an excellent opportunity to target prospective visitors. With an average age 47, 66% say walking is their most popular ‘other activity’, while 55% enjoy travelling and 50% cycle, which means that our Islands have plenty to offer.
Our partnership will look to capitalise on their 70,000 unique website visits a month, 33,000 email newsletter subscribers, 67,400 social media following, and 13,000 readers.
Later in the year we also have visits from some fantastic journalists and influencers, including partner Alice Loxton ‘@History_Alice’, a historian, presenter and author with over two million followers on social media.
