-
Our new trade site is now live! Take a look and explore the new and improved image library and live data dashboard.
-
Competition incoming! Keep an eye on your inbox next week.
-
New ambassador scheme. Find out how you can fly the flag for Guernsey.
-
Guernsey welcomed more than 1/4 million visitors last year. See the latest stats below.
-
The Big Eat continues to grow! More than 50 events have now been registered.
-
Success at this year's Britain and Ireland Marketplace 2026. Read more about how Guernsey was a popular match.
-
Congratulations to Vraic and Alba following their Michelin success.
-
2026's media coverage, which has already got off to a flying start.
-
An important note on boarding permit renewal, with the current permits due to expire on 31 March.
-
VisitGuernsey's Product Development Workshop was held earlier this month, and explored several emerging travel trends.
If you would like more information about anything in this article, or if there is anything we can do to help, please email enquiries@visitguernsey.com or call 01481 223552.
We’re delighted to share our new trade site with you, designed to feel simpler, more intuitive, and easier to use, especially across the pages we know you visit most often.
Your feedback has played a big part in shaping the new site, alongside inspiration we've taken from other tourism sites we admire. We hope you’ll agree that it’s a premium space that supports the way we work together to promote the Islands of Guernsey.
A couple of updates you’ll notice straight away:
A more usable media library with better search tools and easier downloading
A new live dashboard that presents our data more clearly, making it easier to explore visitor trends like occupancy, passenger numbers and reasons for travel
Throughout the process, we’ve focused on building a site that genuinely helps our industry partners by clearly setting out our strategy, impact and priorities, and giving you the tools you need to align with them.
A quick note: to use the new media library you’ll just need to create a free account, which only takes around 30 seconds.
To celebrate the launch of the new trade site, we’re giving all accommodation providers, eateries and activity providers the chance to win one of four marketing slots in our consumer mailers, worth £200. Keep an eye on your inbox next week for details...
Guernsey enjoyed a total of 282,028 visitors throughout 2025, according to data from the latest annual Travel and Visitor Accommodation Report. This number is estimated to have contributed around £151m to the island's economy - a £10m increase from 2024.
The island enjoyed 17,411 more visitors travelling via plane, ferry, or yacht throughout 2025 compared with 2024, the large majority of which landed at the airport. Despite a reduction in cruise visitors the island still saw a net increase in total visitors during this time, with a 31% increase in day-trippers arriving via plane or ferry, over 7,000 more overnight stayers, and over 11,000 more visitors coming from France.
The Tourism Management Board (TMB) is encouraging the sector to all fly the flag for Guernsey and become ambassadors for the island.
Working together with VisitGuernsey, the TMB has launched the Ambassador Training Scheme, which has been developed to enhance the overall visitor experience.
The training scheme is designed to be rolled out to all those working in visitor-facing roles across the tourism sector to deliver an exceptional level of customer service and island knowledge, encouraging a consistent, quality approach.
We now have more than 50 events taking place during the first Big Eat food festival in April. Some of the latest events to be confirmed include:
A 'Meet the Producers dinner' at La Fregate Hotel, hosted by chef, author and TV personality, James Strawbridge
Tours of the Guernsey Dairy
A gelato tasting event at Cornerstone
A Calligraphy Workshop & Cherry Blossom Tea at Renoir Tea Garden
We are also delighted to have events in Alderney and Herm.
To maximise the opportunity, we are now working on our visiting journalist and influencer programme, as well as an event to take a taste of Guernsey to London, for food-specific journalists. We also continue to work closely with Brittany Ferries to promote packages to their UK and French audiences.
If you’re still considering getting involved in the Big Eat, or would like to discuss ideas for events, menus, or experiences, we’d love to hear from you. Please email borbala.halasz@gov.gg.
Last month VisitGuernsey attended the annual Britain and Ireland Marketplace (BIM). BIM, organised by the European Tourism Association (ETOA) in partnership with UKInbound and VisitBritain, brought together a record number of global tourism buyers and suppliers for over 6,000 scheduled meetings.
VisitGuernsey’s travel trade lead, Josephine Ferguson, attended the event, taking part in a full programme of appointments that showed strong interest in Guernsey’s new products, improved connectivity and island‑hopping options.
Key insights included strong long‑haul potential driven by Guernsey’s new British Airways Heathrow route (launching April 2026), solid forward bookings from existing partners, and growing demand for themed itineraries, school groups and quality self‑catering options. Interest in the 2027 “European Year of the Normans” was high, though trade rates from accommodation providers remain a barrier for some operators.
Congratulations to Guernsey restaurants Vraic and Alba for their recognition by Michelin.
Earlier this week, Vraic was awarded a Michelin star (just seven months after opening) making it the island’s only Michelin-starred restaurant, and the first to hold a star on Guernsey in over a decade.
The news came after St Peter Port restaurant Alba was last week awarded a ‘Bib Gourmand’ by the Michelin Guide, the only restaurant in the Channel Islands to have the accolade.
Current boarding permits expire on 31 March, so please apply for a new permit for the period 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.
Permit fees for the upcoming year are:
Visitor accommodation: £11.50 per bed
Private accommodation: £68 per annum
Please note that permits may take up to three weeks to issue. To ensure your permit is processed before the 31 March deadline, we kindly ask that you make payment as soon as your application is submitted.
We’ve kicked off the year on a high, securing strong coverage through our visiting journalist and PR programme, with features appearing across some of the UK’s most respected travel titles.
In early January, Condé Nast Traveller published “Return to the Channel Islands: why this underrated archipelago should be top of your 2026 bucket list”, encouraging readers to island-hop while celebrating our unique British and French blend, relaxed pace of life, and literary links to Victor Hugo.
This was quickly followed by coverage in Wanderlust magazine, where Guernsey featured alongside Burgundy in their “Too good to miss: tasty adventures” round-up. The piece spotlighted The Big Eat festival and the launch of British Airways’ new Heathrow route, starting in April.
Rounding off the month was a strong feature in the Telegraph focused on our appeal as an alternative to budget European breaks. First published online in November and appearing in print in January, the article offers an in-depth look at everything from our food and drink scene to our outstanding natural landscapes.
The VisitGuernsey team hosted the third annual Product Development Workshop earlier this month, an event that has continued to grow in both scale and popularity.
Now firmly established in the industry calendar, the 2026 workshop brought together an even wider range of partners to explore the marketing focus and core themes for the year ahead and beyond, while creating valuable opportunities to connect and collaborate.
