Sunshine boost for tourism

Jersey's hotel industry appears to be benefitting from one of the best summers for many years. More hotel beds were sold in June, compared with May.

But overall the island is still struggling to compete with credit-crunch package holidays in Europe, as the total number of visiting tourists has fallen.

The figures for the first six months of the year, compared with 2009 are down 0.5%. That's a small drop, but the 102,000 visitors for 2010 compares with 162,000 a decade ago.

The figures for the key months of July, August and September are yet to come, but a national TV ad campaign has put smiles on the faces of some hotelliers. If there has been a surge, the industry could see overall growth this year.

Occupancy rates for June this year compared with last rose by 2%. And the number of UK leisure visitors, Jersey's most frequent holidaymakers, saw a 1.6% increase.

And a growing number of people are coming to Jersey on business trips. That sector saw a 15% rise in June.