The Islands of Guernsey TV Campaign
Focusing on the southwest of England, the campaign will run again from Thurs 1 June – Sat 1 July. View the ad here.
Changes to how we collect data
Tripadvisor and Expedia partnerships
We have recently joined up as advertising partners with travel booking and research giants Tripadvisor and Expedia.
As travel continues to regrow after the pandemic, users are searching out alternative ways to book holidays, with Tripadvisor and Expedia becoming two of the most used tools to research potential destinations.
We have taken this opportunity to partner with both companies this spring. Our campaign on Tripadvisor's Ad Express ran in March and delivered 153,092 views. We targeted our creatives to an audience searching holidays in England and Channel Islands.
Our partnership with Expedia began on 17th March and will continue until the end of June. Our dedicated landing pages on both Expedia and Expedia's partner Hotels.com include our own imagery - growing the Islands of Guernsey brand - as well as direct links to book travel and accommodation to our Islands.
We will provide an update on the performance of the ongoing Expedia campaign in next month's mailer.
First Tourism Management Board meeting takes place
The Tourism Management Board met for the first time last month and reviewed the existing strategic aims for tourism in the Islands. Their work in April will concentrate on development of a tourism strategy.
‘It was great to have such a wealth of experience in the room, representing a wide cross section of sectors, who are so enthusiastic about moving the tourism industry forward in a positive direction. We are committed to working together for the benefit of our stakeholders and, ultimately, our visitors.’
Read more about the Tourism Management Board here.
OTT - Online Travel Training
We have reinstated our free online travel training for travel agents. Our new course for 2023, on onlinetraveltraining.com, means you can learn more about what makes Guernsey so special, from the comfort of your own home. Average time to complete the course is 20 minutes.
Our guidelines will steer you, our partners, when creating on-brand communications and ignite the curiosity of travellers everywhere to inspire them to visit our beautiful Islands.
Launch the VisitGuernsey course here.
Cruise Development
We are now preparing for the upcoming cruise season.
During 2023, there are 95 cruise ships scheduled to visit. We are pleased that 12 of those are first-time calls to the Bailiwick and the lines are now operating at full capacity once more having sailed last year with reduced passenger numbers due to covid restrictions.
Last year 88% of passengers chose to come ashore, compared to an industry average of 60-70% which is great news and testimony to the efforts made on-island to offer a quality visitor experience.
This does not mean we are without challenges in this market. We are remaining vigilant to market changes, broadening our audience profiles, targeting lines operating smaller ships with more affluent passengers, focusing on the quality of these visitors and working with you to adapt our product to a changing market.
Read more about cruise development here.
French PR & Renoir
French PR
Ellen Groves, our new PR Rep for the French market, is now three months into her role with VisitGuernsey. A local Guernsey girl herself, Ellen has been Paris-based for the last 15 or so years and has made a fast start in reviewing how much the Islands have to offer French visitors by way of cultural tourism.
We’ve been coordinating with the Bureau des Iles Anglo-Normandes on the Island’s invitation to participate in France’s national culture days, which are organised by the French Ministry of Culture and provide a real opportunity to share our culture with a French audience. This years’ theme is ‘time’, which links in perfectly with the Renoir time-warp at Candie Museum, which was picked up by various online media such as Univerdivers and has an audience of 500k.
We have a new French database that was collected at the Route-du-Rhum, comprising approximately 1300 people that showed an interest in visiting Guernsey, and we’ve begun sending out mailers to that audience highlighting events such as the Renaissance of Victor Hugo exhibition.
Lastly, we are relaunching the Journal des Iles, the former radio link with the Bleu Cotentin, which has 90,000 listeners in the Manche region. If you’re a French speaker working in culture or tourism, and happy to be interviewed, please get in touch with Sam.
Renoir
We’re working closely with Art for Guernsey and Guernsey Museums to promote the Renoir exhibition and associated events taking place later this year. Following our media release to the UK media, we’ve seen widespread interest from several leading national and consumer UK publications, including The Times, The Guardian and The Independent.
We’re in the process of organising a preview group press trip with 6-7 leading nationals, as well as a broadcast day in London with David Ummels, founder of Art for Guernsey, which will help ensure a steady stream of coverage ahead of launch.
Off-Island Representation
This year, as part of our ongoing joint collaboration with Premier Holidays, The Islands of Guernsey have been represented at the following training events and shows. These events provide a great opportunity to speak to agents directly and provide advice. All of these events are in strong catchment areas for the Channel Islands:
Newells Travel Holiday Show: 12th March
This is for customers of Newells Travel, where Premier have a stand dedicated to the Channel Islands
TTNG Business Forum, Newquay: 11th March
Training opportunities for Newells and The Travel Network Group via pre-scheduled meetings.
Instore days – x2 Althams Travel and x3 Premier Travel – March/April
Channel Islands instore days with Althams and Premier Travel for clients including a “meet the expert” presentation.
Premier Travel Managers Meeting and Hays Travel Regional Meeting – 23rd March
Premier Travel and Hays Travel Channel Island training for their teams includes presentations and networking, with over 50+ agents attending.
Travel Councillors
We also work closely with Travel Counsellors, independent travel agents based across the UK, to deliver remote training.
For those wanting a quick update or refresh on what the Islands of Guernsey offer, we have a travel trade training video available here: Promotional Toolkit | Guernsey Trade Media
Read our Travel Training blog to find out more and get in touch with Chloe if you would like to arrange in-person or online training.
Celebrating Group Travel at British Travel and Tourism Show
We were delighted to join Destination Specialists, Condor Ferries, Morvan Hotels and VisitJersey at the British Travel and Tourism Show to represent the Channel Islands in March.
It's largest event of its kind, dedicated to the very best of group tourism in the British Isles and beyond.
There were lots of enquiries on twin centre breaks and interest in themed group tours to the islands of Guernsey.
If you would be interested in working with groups, please get in contact with Chloe.
Muddy Puddles
We’ve partnered with children’s outdoor clothing brand Muddy Puddles, travel guide Family Traveller, and Instagram influencer @Otis and Us to create some family friendly content that showcases the Islands, which will be pushed out this summer.
‘Otis and Us’ is run by Katy, who travels around the UK with her husband, three children, and dog Wilf in their van (Otis), creating engaging travel, adventure, and wellness-focused content which aligns perfectly with the Guernsey audience. They have a following of nearly 13,000, and an engagement rate well above the industry standard.
They have a busy itinerary for their visit in April and will create a suite of images featuring her children wearing the signature Muddy Puddles branded clothing. The content will be staggered across various channels following their trip, with the first of two bursts going out in late April featuring the summer range, before the second burst in September which showcases the Autumn/Winter range. Katy will also be posting her own ad-hoc content of the islands throughout the trip, so here’s hoping for both sunny and rainy days when they’re over!
In parallel, we will also be launching an online / social competition with family lifestyle title Family Traveller, with the prize of a holiday to Guernsey, as well as a bundle of Muddy Puddles clothing.
By partnering with @Otis & Us, Muddy Puddles and Family Traveller we can reach and engage with their specific followers and target the audience that aligns with VisitGuernsey’s branding of, and messaging for, the Islands.
Information Centre refreshed and ready for the season
We are delighted that our information centre in St Peter Port has been refreshed over the last few months with updated signage, new souvenirs and a fresh new look with all surfaces and counters painted. Our helpful team are also sporting branded polo shirts making them easily identifiable for visitors.
This month, also sees the information centre opening 7 days a week. From 9.00-17.00 Monday to Saturday and 10.00-14.00 on Sundays or bank holidays.
If you have any questions, please contact our team on enquiries@visitguernsey.com or telephone 01481 223552
The Guernsey Trade Workshop is back
Last week you should have received an email from us inviting you to register your interest in attending the Guernsey Trade Workshop.
If you work with tour operators, group travel organisers and accommodation providers or would like to, the Workshop provides a fantastic networking opportunity. The free to attend event will take place from Wednesday 11 – Friday 13 Oct and we would be delighted to see you there.
Read more here.
As always, we are on hand to help and support in any way we can, so if there is anything that we can help with, please do get in touch.
