We recently hosted (thank you to Sarnia hotels) an event on the subject of the future of Tourism and the possibility of the introduction of a visitor levy.

The event was well attended with thirty Deputies in the room who saw a presentation by our guest speaker Fiona Drane, followed by a Q&A session which went on for almost half an hour. Post event feedback was very positive.

Fiona and Alan fielded many questions from the Deputies on a wide set of issues related to a possible levy. Alan was keen to stress that the GHA had yet to be properly consulted on a visitor levy, and that as it is currently under consideration from the States there should be a focus group formed with industry people in it to work through the finer details and any possible pitfalls.

Whilst there are many ideas on what kind of initiatives could be funded by a visitor levy, there needs to be more research on what benefits a visitor levy could bring to our visitor economy prior to any decision being made.

Powerpoint required