The statistics, released by Visit Jersey, show that visitors spent £21 million between January and May, with a 40 per cent jump in French visitors compared to the same period in 2017.
However, the total number of visitors dropped by one per cent, with the number of people visiting for a holiday decreasing by 13 per cent. Business trips were up by seven per cent between January and May.
Keith Beecham, chief executive of Visit Jersey, said there was plenty of reason for the hospitality and tourism industries to be optimistic, with advance bookings for the rest of the year up month on month against 2017.
He said that one of the reasons fewer holidaymakers travelled to the Island was likely to be the poor weather early this year combined with an early Easter.
‘There are some positive developments – particularly in the French market,’ he said. ‘It is the holiday stay market which was a little disappointing.
‘We still remain positive about Jersey’s prospects – forward bookings data suggests that our hotels are looking at good growth compared to last year. Every month is showing an increase on forward bookings compared to the same month last year.’
Annual figures show that on average about a quarter of all overnight holiday trips to the Island take place in the first five months of the year.
Mr Beecham added: ‘We try to look at two sets of information – the numbers that are coming to Jersey and the economic benefit they bring.
‘If you are running a business, what you want is money being spent in the Island. That £21 million spent is a very strong signal that Jersey is continuing to reap the benefits of our visitors.
‘We are seeing new investments in Jersey. The Premier Inn opened recently and already they are doing good business – international businesses are investing in Jersey because they see good prospects for the future.’
The figures come after Visit Jersey ran a series of successful – albeit slightly unusual – promotional campaigns including the Kilted Yoga adverts, where two men in kilts performed yoga at a number of different Island locations and another featuring a remastered version of the Bergerac theme tune.
Mr Beecham added that Visit Jersey was about to launch a fresh campaign for the autumn.
‘Our summer campaign is working well at the moment,’ he said. ‘We are about to sign off our autumn campaign in the next few weeks and we are starting to look towards 2019.
‘It is important to remind people that Jersey is a great place and a lot of that is through digital campaigns.’
Further exit surveys are due to be held throughout the year.
