Hot weather boosts tourism on Channel Islands

Tourism bosses have said the spell of hot weather has had a positive impact on visitor numbers to Sark and Herm.

Tracey Gallienne, who runs the Bel Air in Sark, said the weather conditions had led to a "buzz" on the island.

Tom Jones, head of hospitality in Herm, said the combination of the school half-term holidays and "amazing weather" had meant people were visiting at the last minute and were "incredibly happy".

"Herm is at its best when the sun shines and that's why people flock here in the weather as it is right now," Jones added.

Although Jones said May and June were set to be strong months for tourism, July and August were "looking quite worrying".

"I speak to my colleagues across the tourist industry and hospitality industry across Guernsey, everyone is telling the same story," he said.

He added: "There aren't a lot of bookings coming in. May and June, it has been very last minute, so we hope that that trend is continuing into July and August, that those last minute bookings are going to come in but right now it's a major concern.

"I wonder if they are looking to see what comes of the current situation abroad and if things improve there, maybe concerns about flying and booking flights and generally just worried about travelling."

Jones said Herm was working with Sark on ways to attract more visitors.

Peter Plummer, who drives Sark's tractor-towed bus service, known locally as the "toast rack" because of the shape of its passenger-carrying trailer, said there had been an "influx" of visitors.

He said: "Since Friday where the weather really did get warmer there's been an influx of people coming over, both from Jersey and Guernsey and from the neighbouring islands... it's been really good to see.

"It's lovely to see the island nice and busy, and obviously having a sunny bank holiday is an added luxury because we all know what usually the weather's like."

Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.