New action group for Sport and Tourism

Wednesday 17 January 2018

A new group has been set up to try and boost Guernsey's sport and tourism industries.

The idea for the Sport Tourism Action Group (STAG) came about following Economic Development's plan to cut the sports and arts funding from its overall budget toward the end of 2017. That idea has since been scrapped, but has left those involved in the industries concerned.

David Piesing, the former Guernsey Cricket board chairman, is responsible for setting up STAG, and said the idea came about as a direct result of the social media reaction to the announced cuts.

"The same people were making the same comments about the lack of States' support for Sports Tourism as had been made several times recently and so I decided it was time to do something about it rather than just keep moaning on social media," he said.

"The aim is to work closely with the States, but the onus clearly has to be on us to make a compelling and coherent business case in order to access taxpayer funding. Sports tourism is the first stage, and sport generally must follow closely behind it. Creating a Sports tourism special interest group is the first vital step."

A meeting is set for the 1 February at Beau Sejour in the Cambridge Room to act as an "ideas workshop" for those who attend - the plan is to have representatives from as many island sports as possible along with reps from tourism.

"The plan is to break into brainstorming groups to get cross-sections of people to annualise the events ideas which people submit before the night, looking at what else is needed other than just cash to make the event success. We will then discuss our next steps, do we need a committee, sub committees and so on, ideally looking to get a full outline proposal together by Easter," Mr Piesing added.

Above: Jonathan Brownlee crosses the line at the Super League Triathlon, Jersey

Jersey's internationally successful triathlon event, which attracted competitors from around the world and was a great economic success, is the kind of success that Mr Piesing said would be their goal, but also something that was so successful that it was too big to hope to emulate.

"Successful sports tourism events will inevitably strengthen local sports as a consequence."

Previously, Mr Piesing said he had approached sport groups to ask them what events they would look to put on in 2019 or 2020 if they had access to a large grant of money, additionally, he approached hotels to ask what groups they want and don't, and what time of year would be best.

"It's based primarily around generating bednights at hotels, and we will use standard average spend figures to evaluate each suggested project. We'll do a slot on the economics of sports tourism - hotels, flights, restaurants, bars, taxis, coach hire, Aurigny - at the meeting."

More details and contacts can be found on STAG's twitter page.