 Spending and visitor numbers have been falling since 1997 |
A business expert is calling for some of the money earned from Jersey's new sales tax to be spent on tourism. Bob Henkhuzens, who is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, claims the tourism industry will pay an extra �7m a year under the new tax.
He says it is therefore reasonable to argue for some of the money to be ploughed back into tourism projects.
A 3% tax on goods and services is being introduced by the Jersey government from 2008.
Mr Henkhuzens say that while no one in the tourism sector will have welcomed the levy, it could have been much worse with the rate lower than other places which have sales or tourist related taxes.
He believes Jersey should be trying to regenerate its tourism industry so it is not fighting its competitors on price alone.
Since 1997, visitor numbers have fallen by 25% and their spending has fallen by about 33%.