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2017 saw the highest number of holidaymakers coming to Jersey since 2001, up 16% over 2016 with 413,200 staying leisure visitors. Total visits to Jersey in 2017 were up 5% over 2016, with 727,000 visits, the highest number since 2007. 52% of holiday visitors were first-time visitors to Jersey, matching the 2016 figure. £250m was spent by visitors in 2017, up 10%, and visitors spent 2.9 million nights in Jersey of which 68% were for a holiday.

Visit Jersey’s efforts include a focus on low season visits, with some success in 2017. There is evidence that the proportion of overnight holidays in these quieter months has grown for the third consecutive year.

68% of visitors arrive by air, 28% by ferry, 2% by yacht and the remaining 2% by cruise ship and private planes. 65% of total visitors were from the UK, 18% from France, 5% from Guernsey and 3% from Germany.

In terms of accommodation, 65% of leisure visitors stayed in hotels, 19% stayed with friends and relatives, 8% in self-catering accommodation and 4% in guest houses.

When asked to rate their experience in Jersey from 0 to 5 (5 being excellent), visitors rated Jersey’s beaches, countryside, cleanliness, safety and security 4.7. Attractions, restaurants, cafes and bars scored 4.4, shops and retail scored 4.0 and value for money scored 3.8. Overall, visitors rated Jersey 4.5.

The six most-visited attractions in 2017 were the Jersey War Tunnels, a guided coach or bus tour, Jersey Zoo, Elizabeth Castle, Mont Orgeuil (Gorey) Castle and Jersey Pearl.

Additional Data

Purpose of Visit
• 70% of visits were for a holiday, giving a tally of 508,000 holiday visits, of which 431,000
stayed on the island for at least one night (holiday visits of at least one night includes holiday
visitors staying in any type of accommodation). The remainder were day-trip holiday or cruise
passenger visits
• 11% of visits were for business (79,000)
• 14% (103,000) were to visit friends or relatives
• 68% of visitor nights spent in Jersey were for a holiday

Seasonality
• 19% of Holiday visits took place in the January-March and October-December periods, with
the remaining 81% being between April and September
• Business visits are more evenly spread, with 47% taking place over the first and fourth
quarters and the remaining 53% between April to September
• 114,000 visits made August the busiest month, January was the quietest with 18,000 visits

Mode
• 68% of all visits were by Scheduled Air
• 28% of visits were by Scheduled Ferry
• 2% of visits were by Visiting Yachtsmen
• Cruise and Private Planes made up the remaining visits

First-time Visits
• 43% of visits during 2017 were by those making their first visit to Jersey
• Holiday first time visitors represented 52% of all holiday visits

Source Markets
• 65% of visits in 2017 were by residents of the UK
• France accounted for 18% of all visits
• Guernsey is the third largest source market in terms of visits (5%) ahead of Germany (3%)
• In terms of visitor nights, the UK’s share increases to 77%, France declines to 6%, Germany
is at 4% and Guernsey 2%

Accommodation
• ‘Hotel’ accounted for 65% of all visitor nights on the island
• 19% of visitor nights were spent with friends and relatives
• 8% in ‘self-catering’
• 4% in ‘Guest Houses’

Ratings
Departing visitors were invited to rate several attributes on a five-point scale from 1 = Very Poor to 5 = Excellent

• Beaches/countryside, Cleanliness, Safety and Security all typically get a score of around 4.7
• Attractions, Restaurants, Cafes, and Bars score around 4.4
• Shops / Retail is somewhat lower at 4.0
• ‘Value for Money’ scored 3.8
• When invited to give ‘Jersey in general’ a rating a score of 4.5 was achieved

Visitor numbers and related data for 2017 is provisional and subject to an assurance review by independent reporting accountants.