Ash cloud fly ban cost tourism 4,000 visitors
Tuesday 27th April 2010, 3:00PM BST.
As thousands cancelled holidays to Jersey, others were booking ferries to get home or to travel to the UK
THE Icelandic volcanic ash cloud has cost the Island an estimated £1.2 million.
Jersey Tourism has revealed that roughly 4,000 visitors – who spend an average £300 each – did not make it to the Island as a result of the six-day closure of British airspace.
Tourism officials are now putting together an emergency plan in the event that any further ash clouds were to ground aircraft during the peak summer season.
Jersey Tourism director David de Carteret said: ‘The challenge going forward is to have a response plan which provides the best possible outcome if further volcanic eruptions occur and airspace is once again closed.’
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The way tourism has been going with ‘attractions’ closing etc, I would have thought that was close to the entire number of visitors expected this year!
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How can that be? Tourism is dead on its feet these days thanks to the expensive pricing of things in Jersey and the expensive price of getting here. Why should tourists bother when they can go to somewhere with decent weather for a similar price or less?
I would say the challenge going forward is to bring the prices down over here including travel to and from the island. This would help encourage some tourists to come here.
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What a shame, what can they do, nothing!!!!
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Anyone hear the calls for vast amounts of “compensation” yet?
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What about the people stuck on the Island who stayed and spent more money? I imagine if 4,000 were expected to come, that 4,000 were already stuck here spending more money.
And what about the locals who had hoped to go away but could’nt and ended up staying at home and spending more money?
I think Jersey probably made more money than usual as a result of the Volcano, and as usual one sided facts and spin from the States – yawn…
Rose x
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How dare nature take 1.2 million from us, maybe nature is angry at us for taking so so much more from it……
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Now that it’s been scientifically confirmed that the great ash cloud was about as dangerous as swine flu I hope that we’re going to sue the idiots who imposed a blanket ban on flights.
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I was one of those four thousand people whose plans to visit Jersey were cut short by the eruption of the volcano.
When my flights were cancelled I tried to book a passage on a ferry.
It was the sheer, unmitigated, greed of the ferry operators who almost doubled their fares that deterred me from going through with my plans.
The “£300″ Mr de Carteret alleges I would have spent while in Jersey (plus all the rest!) will be kept for another occasion.
But in future I will avoid the ferry carriers as if they were plague carriers!
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Who they kidding
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The announcement from David de Carteret, saying “The challenge going forward”, may be sound contemporary, though it is an unnecessary and meaningless nonsense statement, given that any ‘response plan’ can only serve for the future.
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Plan ? What plan ? Are they going to spend millions of pounds developing a special fan so only flights can make it through the ash to Jersey ?
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8. Sarf London Boy…
It was the sheer, unmitigated, greed of the ferry operators who almost doubled their fares.
Some one should do an independent review of condor’s pricing during this event. Guaranteed condor would rip people off in their time of need. SNAFU!!
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their having a laugh.
They killed any tourism years ago so now moan about the few who couldn’t get here.
Wake up and get a another boat or two to compete with condor.
Folk are fed up with unreliable and overpriced air fares and restrictions and hassle at the airports of today.
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PLAN!?!? What PLAN can there be against UNPLANNED airspace closure? They must be PLANNING on towing Jersey to the south coast of england so the thousands of tourists can just walk into the island!
Geniuses, wonder how much money will be wasted working out there is NO PLAN?
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2 Adrian – that would also encourage locals to leave too! :-p
7 Hilary – given that volcanic ash brought down a BA flight back in 1982, I for one am more than happy that my holiday was cancelled…safety first!
13 Bella – agree with the competition, however, HD was a disaster and it’s MD really didn’t give a … about passenger (or crew) safety!
As for Mr de Carteret – it would be interesting to see a breakdown of the 4000 – how many were genuine tourists vs how many were coming over on business? How many were stuck here essentially being forced to spend additional money in our economy as a result? How many locals were forced to have a staycation thus spending money on doing the overpriced (IMO) touristy things at home?
This is a natural event which just cannot be planned for (or at least if you try, the cost of planning for it outweighs the chances of it actually happening again IMO). I think that the only thing really that needs sorting out is this “act of god” clause the travel insurance companies were pulling to refuse to pay out to customers. Prove god exists! I also think insurance companies should be footing the bill for the cancelled flights, not the airlines themselves which are likely to be crippled by this.
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Im a little sick of hearing about how the cloud affected airline and tourisum. It was all brought to a stop to save lives!
Besides, Their may have been people stopped for getting to Jersey but what about the tourists who couldnt leave. I bet my bottom doller that number of people was not considered before this story hit the site.
And 4000 people in like 5 days? Hmmm not sure about that 1!
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Erm no I think they will find the lack of any sort of appeal to visit Jersey in the last decade may have something to do with costing “Tourism” millions! Its all very well to blame 6 days of a decrease in tourism on volcanic ash but would “Tourism” like to explain the reason for all the other years?
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Surf London Boy – Which ferry company were you looking at? I book Condor for clients every single working day and at no point did they raise their prices for the original or new sailings that they put in place. In fact at some points they had specials available which made them cheaper than usual!
Yes they were more or less the only people to benefit, but not through price hikes.
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The way I see things they haven’t missed much at all. Jersey used to be such a fantastic tourist location but now with the closing of most tourist attractions and talks of closing the living legend and some heritage sights just proves this point. Jersey has become an island with a goverment that just cares about money money money!
Also with the cost of coming over to Jersey also has an impact on the tourism industry, I mean why come to Jersey when you could go somewhere like Egypt for nearly the same price?
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Thouse who use any excuse to knock Condor should log onto their website and select Jersey Promotions !
Just booked our second mini break of the year to France and looking at the UK in September, at £195 return for me, my car and 4 days in the UK.
That seems fine to me !
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May be they are going to build the bridge lol
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I must congratulate Condor for the way in which they came to the rescue of many stranded islanders. Their response was polite and helpful.
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Adrian #2
“I would say the challenge going forward is to bring the prices down over here including travel to and from the island.”
So you’re happy for your tax payments to subsidise visitors?
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FUNDAR & Surf London Boy:
I don’t know where you got your prices from.
After having to wait for 3 hours at the harbour for a ticket to the UK we were charged exactly the same amount as was quoted before the airport was closed. No mark up – and we got our student discount! Plus we were served quickly and politely. Well done Condor!
BTW 10 years ago the price of a car plus 2 adults and 3 kids return to France was around the £500 mark!
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I was due to visit Jersey last week, but cancelled when it looked as if no aircraft would be flying for some weeks. I cannot travel by sea due to health issues. I have since rebooked for later this year. Will they give reasonable insurance for volcanic ash? All a bit of a cock up.
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I am surprised to learn that so many £300 spenders come by air.
I thought that they mostly travel on the “Vomit Comet”, mainly via Weymouth, which is the cheap route.
Most of the travel adverts I see which are pitched at the UK market are ferry based.
Adrian, very true, uncommitted tourists can get better deals elswhere but my experience from listening to fellow passengers is that people either travel to Jersey because they are loyal regulars who like the scene or they have family connections.
Those are the main reasons for visiting Jersey from my observations, I wonder whether questionnaire results concur.
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C Le Verdic; “Vomit Comet” made me laugh, thank you.
As for the headline re 4,000 tourists, where on earth do they all go usually, given the fact that authorites have extremely wisely allowed nearly all of our hotels to be knocked down!?
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was that 4 visitors and not four thousand visitors?
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Steady Eddie, the nickname “Vomit Comet” came to me via a Weymouth resident. Maybe they do the cleaning at that end?
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They get to that figure by counting passengers arriving at airport-most of them are locals arriving back here.
So numbers they mention means nothing!
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