Business travel 'needs to recover' further

Barry Harris said corporate travel makes up more than half of his fares

A taxi driver has called on the States of Guernsey to put its "hands in its pockets" to boost corporate air travel to and from the island.

Barry Harris, owner of Bazza's Taxis, said business travel makes up more than half of his journeys, but feels it has yet to return to the levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic, and efforts need to be made to keep it thriving.

He said the government needs to "start paying so we can then get a better connectivity between here, England, Jersey and maybe even Europe".

The Committee for Economic Development declined to comment.

Philip Saunders, Chief Commercial Officer at the island's airline Aurigny, said business travel will always remain a "key focus" for the airline.

"Our London City service, which was strongly requested by the finance and professional sectors, continues to be one of our most popular routes for business travel," he said.

Mr Harris thinks the government should look at how Jersey's airspace operates and pay to bring in more airlines.

He said: "I don't think the business travel is what it was; we definitely had a bad year last year, but we've recovered this year, and we need to recover a lot more".

He pointed out that the new inter-island ferry service has helped business travel between the Channel Islands thrive with multiple daily trips.

Chad Murray, the CEO of Islands Unlimited, said: "We've seen a steady uptake of our new inter-island service during its first 2025 season".

How are business travel trends changing?

According to the Travel and Visitor Accommodation bulletin, so far this year, business travel from Guernsey is down 5.6% compared to 2024, but the number of people travelling to the island for business is up by 17%.

Business travel expert, Garry Lloyd, from Wayte Travel Management, said the differences could be down to changes in business ownership.

"Businesses now are being taken on by much bigger organisations, and therefore, the need for business travel from locals is not as busy as it used to be," he said.

"We're also seeing people travel a little smarter... instead of taking two or three trips a week, they're now travelling for two or three days at a time."

He said business travel was important "to make sure that our economy stays stable and hopefully prospers in the future".

Like Mr Harris, Mr Lloyd believes the island should be bringing in airlines "with a little bit more connectivity to the rest of the UK and further afield".

Is there still a need for business travel?

Karel Harris, the managing director of Sarnia Hotels, said in March that there was less business travel because video calling had led to more businesses meeting online instead of in person after the pandemic.

"Whether that will ever go back to pre-Covid levels, I'm not sure," she said.

But Tim Parkes, CEO of the investment firm RAW Capital Partners, said his company uses business travel each week, with employees based in the UK too.

He said meeting face-to-face, "particularly when you're managing people or building new relationships, is still the premier way to do business".

"It's really hard to develop new business relationships over video call alone," he added.

However, he said that the cost of travel can still be a barrier, with a day's travel to London often costing the firm £300-£400.

"I think business travel will always be needed to develop those new relationships [but] you can't justify it so easily if the costs keep going up," he said.