Visitor Figures
Prior to Covid, visitor numbers and expenditure in Jersey had been increasing, and 2019 saw the highest number of holidaymakers coming to Jersey since 2001, with 439,200 overnight holiday visitors. Visitors spent 2.7 million nights in Jersey in 2019 of which 70% were for a holiday. Total visitor spend during 2019 was £279.8m. Due to Covid, the ongoing Exit Survey to provide details of visitor numbers and expenditure did not run from April 2020 to the end of 2021, but the survey has now resumed.
2022 was a transitional year in terms of the recovery of the tourism industry worldwide, with multiple factors impacting the global travel industry, including the rising cost of living, the war in Ukraine and widespread travel disruption. In addition, the emergence of the Omicron variant impacted January to a great extent, and also February, with Jersey’s border restrictions not being fully lifted until 7 February. Although Jersey’s visitor numbers are, like many destinations around the world, still down on 2019 levels, they continued to trend upwards as the year progressed. At the end of 2022 overnight holiday visitors were at 60% of 2019 levels.
In 2023 visitors continued to recover but at a slower pace than in 2022. With the world having fully opened up post covid, there was more competition for holidaymakers. By the end of 2023, overnight holiday visitors were at 66% of 2019 levels, this equates to 24,000 more overnight leisure visitors than the previous year.
