Exit Survey Headline Analysis – full-year 2019
Key full-year metrics • • • • • • • • • •
Visitors spent £279.8m while in Jersey during 2019, representing a before-inflation annual increase of 4% The number of visits reached 770,700, which was 6% more than in 2018 The number of nights spent on the island by visitors stood at 2.74 million, 1% above 2018 figures Among those staying at least one night the average length of stay was 4.2 nights, down from 4.4 nights in 2018 The number of overnight Holiday visits reached 439,200, this being an annual increase of 6% Total visitor nights by those choosing Jersey for a Holiday stood at 1.92 million, or 2% up on the year before Average trip duration for overnight Holiday visitors of 4.4 was marginally lower than the 4.5 seen in 2018 Among Holiday visitors the Net Promoter Score for 2019 was 58, three points higher than the 55 seen in 2018 50% of Holiday visitors to Jersey were experiencing the island for the first time, marginally higher than 48% in 2018 The majority (69%) of visitors travel to/from Jersey by scheduled air
Visitor spending During Q4 visitors spent £39.2m in Jersey, 15% less in nominal terms than in Q4 of 2018, although still 31% higher than that achieved in the final quarter of 2017, suggesting that the 2018 figure may have been exceptional. Across 2019 visitors spent £279.8m in Jersey, this being 4% up on the year before in nominal terms. In the final three months of 2019 the typical visit generated spending of £315 with an average nightly spend of £99. The equivalent figures for full-year 2019 are £363 and £102 respectively, representing a nominal year-on-year decline in spend per visit of 2% and increase in spend per night of 4%. Note that all spend figures exclude the cost of travel to/from Jersey. Overall visits and visitor nights In the month of December there were 31,300 visits generating 96,100 visitor nights, with these figures representing a 10% decline in visits and 13% drop in visitor nights compared with December 2018. Taking the longer view for the three months to December the volume of visits was 6% lower than the year before whereas visitor nights declined by 13% compared with same three months a year earlier. Taking a full twelve-month view, the number of visits in 2019 reached 770,700 and visitor nights stood at 2.74m, representing increases of 6% and 1% respectively. This is the highest volume of visits to Jersey since 2003. Journey purpose The number of ‘Holiday’ visits to Jersey during December was 14% down when we include both overnight and day-trip visits, but focussing just on overnight Holiday visits the decline was somewhat less sharp at 6%. In Q4 overall Holiday visits were 2% down but overnight visits fell by 5%. This situation arose thanks to a stronger daytrip performance in the first part of the quarter. Overall in 2019 514,600 Holiday visits took place, of which 439,200 lasted at least one night. This means that there was a 7% increase in Holiday visits in 2019, with the equivalent figure for overnight Holiday trips being 6%. The annual tally for day-trip Holiday visits of 75,500 was 14% ahead of the situation the year before.