Trade update - 11 September

Visitor numbers to Guernsey are continuing their strong recovery, with the latest figures showing arrivals are now just 500 short of pre-Covid levels. The Q2 2026 Travel and Visitor Accommodation Bulletin highlights an 13% increase in staying leisure visitors compared with last year, alongside a significant rise in day-trippers, record visitor satisfaction scores, and stronger hotel occupancy rates.

The findings reflect growing demand for Guernsey as a destination and provide further confidence for the island's tourism industry.

Read the full article here.

August saw 10,831 visitors through the doors of the Visitor Information Centre in Market Square, representing an increase of 4,391 visitors compared to August last year, a remarkable 68.18% rise.

The positive trend continues across the year. From January to August, the team has welcomed 39,518 visitors, compared to 31,783 during the same period last year, an increase of 24.33%.

These figures highlight the important role the Visitor Information Centre plays in helping visitors make the most of their time in the Islands, whether that's discovering local attractions, booking experiences, finding accommodation, getting expert advice from the team, or picking up a gift to take back home.

In August VisitGuernsey welcomed a day trip familiarisation visit in partnership with Prestige Travel. The agents left Southampton at 8am and were enjoying coffee on the sun terrace at St Pierre Park just after 9am. The group toured hotels, explored the island from shoreline to clifftop and were delighted by the islands charm, delicious food and rich history. The group were briefed on upcoming events in all the island and shared more than 100 photos of their day here - we can confidently say they left inspired and topped up with all the latest news (and possibly a glowing tan as it was such perfect weather).

New marketing material and offers have already been circulated with the teams and we hope to see new enquires from October onwards.

Twelve new accredited Silver Guides have successfully qualified, with seven earning distinctions.

Among the successful candidates are French and German-speaking guides, helping to enhance the experience for international visitors.

The Guild has more than 50 experienced guides, each with their own specialties offering tours including: ghost walks, private groups, themed nights, corporate functions, educational and excursions.

Meet them here.

As food and drink remain a major PR focus for VisitGuernsey this year, our partnership with Foodism continues to help us reach one of our most valuable audiences: people who love to travel for great food.

The campaign has included full-page magazine adverts, targeted digital activity and, most recently, a week-long takeover of the Foodism homepage.

This latest activity alone is expected to deliver up to 100,000 impressions, showcasing Guernsey to a highly engaged audience actively seeking their next culinary escape.

By keeping Guernsey front and centre across Foodism's channels, we're helping to reinforce the island's reputation as a destination where outstanding food and memorable travel experiences go hand in hand.

Work on the long-planned reconstruction of Castle Bridge will begin in September, marking a significant investment in the future of one of Guernsey's most recognisable heritage sites. The project will safeguard access to Castle Cornet, the Breakwater and Castle Lighthouse for decades to come, with the new bridge expected to reopen in May 2027 ahead of the summer season.

Castle Cornet welcomed its last visitors on 6 September, with the attraction now closed for the duration of the works. Throughout the reconstruction period, businesses on the Castle Emplacement will continue trading, supported by revised parking arrangements designed to maintain customer access.

We're delighted to see leading German tour operator Geoplan launch a refreshed Channel Islands programme with an enhanced Guernsey offering.

Following their participation in one of our familiarisation visits last year, Geoplan has expanded the Guernsey element of its island-hopping itinerary to include three days on the island, alongside two nights in Sark and a day trip to Herm. The programme showcases the best of the Bailiwick while giving visitors more time to experience Guernsey's rich heritage, coastal scenery and food and drink offering.

The itinerary also takes advantage of British Airways' Heathrow-Guernsey service, creating convenient connections from Germany via Heathrow, which is served by BA from multiple German airports.

The tour is now live and bookable, and we look forward to working with Geoplan on future marketing activity to help drive awareness and bookings from the German market.

VisitGuernsey has launched dedicated walking and cycling collections on Komoot, one of the world's leading outdoor adventure platforms with more than 50 million users. Developed in partnership with Visit Alderney, Sark and Herm, the collections showcase 20 routes across the Islands of Guernsey and are being promoted to audiences in Brittany, Normandy and Paris.

Since launching in August, the campaign has already generated more than 243,000 views, 2,000 promoted clicks and over 100 profile followers. Businesses are encouraged to share the collections with customers interested in walking and cycling, with a new running collection set to launch soon.

Read the full story here.