‘Don’t blame us’
Wednesday 25th June 2008, 1:00PM BST.
POTTER Rex Opie has blamed VisitGuernsey for the collapse of his business. But it has responded by saying the number of visitors to the island has been going up in recent years and the closure is not its fault.
Mr Opie, 72 (pictured), who has owned Moulin Huet Pottery since 1966, said his and many other island businesses have been let down by the States’ inability to market Guernsey as a tourist destination effectively.
‘They are not doing their job properly. If they were on The Apprentice, they would all be fired,’ he said. He said although its tourism arm, VisitGuernsey, has an army of helpers with personal assistants, it was not attracting a satisfactory number of tourists.’
Chris Elliott, director of marketing and tourism at Commerce and Employment, said that contrary to Mr Opie’s comments, Guernsey was experiencing a growth in tourism. ‘Visitor numbers are up this year, as they were last year,’ he said.
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I love visiting Guernsey, and if I could I would live there.
What is wrong with Guernsey from an outsiders point of view is the hotels. They are either well overpriced or just awful.
Sort out your hoteliers and maybe just maybe you will get more tourists.
Regular visitor who has try a new hotel everytime we visit.
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Visitors and tourists are 2 different things. The business traveller and day tripper from a cruise liner isn’t going to explore Guernsey and spend like a proper “tourist”.
Most business travellers and cruise line visitors wouldn’t have the time, energy or inclination to leave town.
It’s time Visit Guernsey stopped hiding behind the stats and worked harder to earn their corn… how hard can it be when you have such a great product to sell as Guernsey?
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Maybe if it was not so expensive to travel to Guernsey by boat more people would do it. The same ferry goes from poole/weymouth to Guernsey and on to St Malo and it is much cheaper to travel twice as far to St Malo than it is to travel to Guernsey. Someone (ferry co. or states) is milking the market and Guernsey tourism suffers. Would love to stay on Guernsey but much cheaper to travel on to France, and with everyone watching the pennies i guess i will not be alone!
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We came to Guernsey by accident in 1999. I say “by accident” because we were going to Jersey as that was the only island we thought did holidays! But the travel agent suggested Guernsey and how glad we were she did. We have spent some lovely times there most years since, but each time we come the Island seems to loose a bit of its uniqueness. We now find it hard to afford coming again as the travel costs are a bit prohibitive to say the least. I have to say from here in England it does appear Guernsey has lost its way as the advertising is very poor and the info on the internet always seems to favour Jersey. It is a great shame to see places like the Strawberry Farm and the Moulin Huet Pottery closing, and the thought of some money grabbing tycoon owning Herm and turning it into his own tax haven is very grim. Come on Guernsey, you are a beautifull peacefull place for all to visit so get off your backside and tell the world about yourself and make it cost effective for people to travel there and enjoy a bit of paradise this side of the Atlantic! Try getting HD Ferries to come to England and stop Aurigny and Flybe bickering with each other for a start! Then tell everyone how good and cheap your bus service is rather than moaning you can’t get past them in your 4×4′s. Tell them about the joy of catching the Trident to Herm for the day. Come on, you can do it!
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Have been to Guernsey many times, will not be back for a while, badly dissappointed by last visit, local getting out of cars to inform me that I did not know how to drive on the island, rudeness to children, and to be honest completely overpriced, it is a shame, the island is beautiful (or at least bits of it are) and there are many nice pople, but it is heading in the wrong direction
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I sympathise with SP’s experience. Whilst it is frustrating to get stuck behind a tourist who is constantly braking etc. etc. it’s the locals who should learn how to drive. I am constantly staggered by the amount of locals who don’t seem to think indicating is necessary. They should try a spell of driving in UK to wake them up.
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As a local it seems that, whenever I am out of the island, very few people seem to have heard of Guernsey – apart from the fact that it is somewhere near Jersey! It is clear that the States are not marketing Guernsey adequately if so many people have heard so little about the island.
I think it is high time that the States “think outside the box” and get with the times. By this I highlight the fact that, over the past few years, smaller businesses are struggling to compete and are thus being snapped up by larger businesses.
Alikening Guernsey tourism to a “business”, if Guernsey is to succeed as a tourist destination, it is clear that we have to look at collaborating with Jersey. Perhaps with such a collaboration, advertising costs can be cut for both islands whilst being able to fund higher-profile marketing. Otherwise, it is inevitable that we will find ourselves increasingly unable to compete in the global market, and we will see taxpayers money being fed down the drain again!
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too many immigrants/immigrant workers too expensive just not guernsey anymore sorry what more can i say?
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why are there no air links to east midlands airport. potentially this could encourage more tourism from regions such as nottinghamshire, derbyshire,leicestershire,lincolnshire, northhamptonshire etc.Even if a small percentage of the residents of these counties were to visit guernsey each year it would still be a significant number.
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Rex –
What have YOU done to market your business? I have lived here for 40 years, and I have never been tempted to your site.
I have seen many local businesses fold, and there is always plenty of whining about the States. Don’t forget that the States has no money – it is all taxpayers’ money and we have no obligation to finance your business.
Don’t you understand that you have to work to get people in? You can’t just sit on your backside and expect some-one else to do it for you.
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