Businesses respond to hottest April in seven years

Tourism businesses in Jersey have been making the most of the hottest April since 2018.

According to Jersey Met, the total rainfall has been around half of the usual average for this month, which usually stands at 56.7mm.

Sunshine hours have also been above average, with an estimated 80 extra hours throughout the month compared to a typical April.

One watersports business owner said the warmer weather had been a "bonus" and enabled him to start the season earlier than usual.

In St Brelade, Jono Stevenson of Jono's Watersports in St Brelade said: "It's not very often I'm open in April, it's good to get going.

"Generally, in Jersey, the season runs May to September. It's a bonus to be open".

Other businesses have not seen much of a change including Simon Monins, who drives Le Petit Train, and said it was "still very quiet."

He added: "I've been chatting to some of the hoteliers and they all agree – it's been a quiet start to the year."

He remains "hopeful" for the rest of the holiday season.

Temperatures are expected to reach highs of 26C on Wednesday, just below Jersey's April record of 26.2C in 1984.

Quaranta William is the operational manager of Jersey Bus Tours, and he says he's seen more English visitors during the warm weather.

He said: "With us having the open-top bus, it's quite a nice selling point on a hot day.

"However, there's been no presence of French visitors."

Islanders will be able to enjoy the sunshine this bank holiday weekend at the Boat Show.

John Neal of Marquee Solutions has been setting up today. He says the event "kick starts the summer season".

"It's all hands on deck at the moment but really enjoyable in the sun".

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