Covid-19: Guernsey cruise cancellation decision made 'too early'

The decision to cancel the entire 2021 cruise ship season was taken on Wednesday

The decision to cancel all Guernsey cruise ships visits for 2021 was made "too early", a local tour guide said.

The move was made to "protect the health and safety" of the bailiwick during the coronavirus pandemic, the States of Guernsey said.

Gill Girard said while the decision did not "come as a big surprise" it was "still very disappointing".

She argued with vaccine rollouts the situation was changing "so quickly" it was wrong to cancel the entire season.

Mrs Girard said: "If we'd just left it a bit longer to see how everything is developing.

"Thing are changing and I think we've jumped in too early and put out a negative message to everybody, rather than waiting to see and maybe changing our minds a bit later on in the season."

She said she was "grateful" for the support from the local community last year to compensate for the lack of tourists.

Gill Girard said she wished the States had waited to see how the Covid-19 pandemic develops before cancelling the entire season

Mrs Girard explained a lot of tourist businesses were "going to try" to sustain themselves with purely local custom, but it was "nothing like the numbers" they would get most years.

"But there are only so many, you do run out of locals with an interest in coming on our tours."

"The quantity of people that we normally look after, a majority of them are from the cruise ships," Mrs Girard added.

Hope taken away

Announcing the cancellation on Wednesday, President of the Committee for Economic Development Neil Inder said the States had not taken the decision "lightly".

He explained the "proactive" move was made after discussions with Public Health, with the "extensive operational and logistical requirements" to ensure the safety of passengers, crew and residents meant it was not feasible to host ships.

Deputy Inder said: "We would like to thank the cruise industry for their understanding and support, and we look forward to working with them towards a successful and safe 2022 season."

Ant Ford-Parker, owner of Outdoor Guernsey, said around on third of his customers came from cruise ships and local custom was not enough to sustain businesses that rely on visitors.

He said "nobody is suggesting" cruise ships should be allowed while internal lockdown restrictions remain.

"But it was that hope that things will get better later in the year that's been taken away," he added.

Follow BBC Guernsey on Twitter and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].