Island exasperated with travel

Monday 12 August 2019

Guernsey's clear frustration with the cost and reliability of its travel links has been demonstrated in a report conducted by Island Global Research.

The group carried out an online survey about travel and tourism earlier this year, which showed that while 93% of residents have travelled for leisure in the last year, most were unsatisfied with the services they had to use.

When it came to air links, people were satisfied with the choice of destinations offered, but 25% of respondents were very dissatisfied with the cost, with another 41% being dissatisfied, and 21% being neutral. 

For sea travel, people were even more frustrated though. Many were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied about the choice of destinations, and the vast majority of people were unhappy with the cost, reliability and departure times of all sailings. 

In conclusion about Guernsey's situation, the report said: "the survey shows high levels of dissatisfaction with the cost of travel. Almost all the comments echoed this, and a number suggested that they would travel more frequently were it more affordable to do so. The high cost of booking at short notice was frequently discussed.

"The survey shows how important reliability is for both business and leisure travel. The comments demonstrate clear frustration with the lack of reliability of the sea links, in line with the earlier findings. Many of the reliability issues are perceived to be within the ferry operator's control, eg. the choice of vessel." 

The report also outlined the different priorities for leisure and business travellers. Both groups put reliability clearly at the forefront as the most important element, but then for leisure travellers, cost was a close second, while it was the least important factor for business travellers. 

Finally, it also picked up on comments about Alderney. While air and sea links to and from the northern-most isle were not specifically focused on, it said: "there were comments left strongly reccomending improved travel links between Alderney and Guernsey and the UK.

"Mixed views on Guernsey airport's runway length were [also] expressed." 

Pictured top: Guernsey Airport and St Peter Port Harbour.