16 December 2015
The Economic Development Department (EDD) is inviting expressions of interest from individuals or businesses to establish Events Jersey.
Event-led tourism is an important element of the rejuvenation of Jersey’s visitor economy. In this context, the term 'events' includes a broad range of sporting, cultural and more traditional tourist events, all of which have the potential to attract new visitors to Jersey. The term also includes festivals, exhibitions, trade shows, conferences and incentive travel. This definition is consistent with the Visit Jersey board’s definition of tourism in their preliminary report to the Minister for Economic Development: “We therefore consider the United Nations World Travel Organization (WTO) definition of tourism ('Persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than a year for leisure, business or other purposes') is the most appropriate and relevant definition of the term.”
The Minister for Economic Development, Senator Lyndon Farnham, has decided that, to ensure a single focus for the development of a comprehensive calendar of events, EDD will appoint an organisation or individual to work closely with Visit Jersey and the industry to provide support under the banner of 'Events Jersey'.
Senator Farnham commented “Building on the creation of Visit Jersey, the award of a contract to deliver Events Jersey will mark another milestone in the renaissance of Jersey’s tourism sector, and alongside it, the continued development of sport and the creative industries in the Island. As we see from major events such as the NatWest Island Games through to smaller more niche events, a comprehensive events calendar can have a significant economic impact.
“Through Events Jersey I want to ensure there is support and encouragement to develop Jersey’s events calendar into a truly world-class offering that Visit Jersey can market and promote in the UK, Europe and farther afield to attract more year-round visitors and further increase the contribution tourism makes to the Jersey economy.”
The Chair of Visit Jersey, John Henwood, added ”Tourism is a fiercely competitive global business and we must continue to discover new reasons for visitors to come here. Jersey Live is a good illustration, as 44% of those who attended said they had come to the Island specifically for the event. More high-quality and diverse events will help to make Jersey a ‘must visit’ destination for ever more tourists.”
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