:00:00. > :00:10.That's all from us. Don't forget a first look at the papers over on
:00:11. > :00:15.Good evening. Jersey's state tourism department could be scrapped and
:00:16. > :00:18.replaced with a non`government body called Visit Jersey, in a bid to
:00:19. > :00:23.attract more people to the island. That's the proposal put forward by
:00:24. > :00:25.the Tourism Shadow Board. It follows a dramatic decline in visitor
:00:26. > :00:30.numbers at a time when global tourism is growing. The number of
:00:31. > :00:34.holiday makers has fallen by 43% in the last 15 years. In 1997, there
:00:35. > :00:40.were almost 600,000 staying leisure visitors but that has now dropped to
:00:41. > :00:43.just over 300,000. But with more aggressive marketing, it's claimed
:00:44. > :00:50.within 15 years that could increase to a million. Jen Smith reports.
:00:51. > :00:53.Jersey in its tourism hey`day when the beaches were full of
:00:54. > :00:59.holiday`makers and the shops busy with people keen to part with their
:01:00. > :01:02.cash. But these are scenes the modern industry can currently only
:01:03. > :01:05.dream of. Visitor numbers have dwindled, hotels and guest houses
:01:06. > :01:09.have closed and, this, year a further blow. Preston Travel, which
:01:10. > :01:19.brought thousands of tourists to Jersey, went out of business. Now
:01:20. > :01:27.the industry needs help. We can't really afford any further decline.
:01:28. > :01:30.We need to halt the decline, turn it round and invigorate some growth.
:01:31. > :01:33.?6.5 million of tax payers money currently spent each year on
:01:34. > :01:36.Jersey's Tourism department could be given instead to Visit Jersey as a
:01:37. > :01:39.grant. Without direct government control it's hoped Visit Jersey will
:01:40. > :01:53.market the island more aggressively, work more closely with airlines and
:01:54. > :01:55.take bigger commercial risks. The man making the recommendations
:01:56. > :02:04.briefed the hospitality industry today. Absolutely delighted. It is
:02:05. > :02:10.what I joined this association for. It is time for a new deal for
:02:11. > :02:16.tourism. The finance industry has been the big heavyweight and focus
:02:17. > :02:31.for us. It is nice to see a return back to hospitality. . But there are
:02:32. > :02:34.18 full`time staff at Jersey Tourism. The new body will be much
:02:35. > :02:38.smaller. Jersey Tourism didn't want to comment today.
:02:39. > :02:42.A free bus service, a width tax on vehicles and more cycle lanes. These
:02:43. > :02:45.are just some of the proposals from Guernsey's Environment Department to
:02:46. > :02:47.drive cars off the road and make alternative transport more
:02:48. > :02:50.attractive. But the scale of the job is daunting. There are 86,000
:02:51. > :02:53.registered vehicles for 63,000 residents. The long`awaited
:02:54. > :02:57.transport strategy has been released today. And as Mike Wilkins reports,
:02:58. > :03:02.not everyone in the Environment Department agrees with the
:03:03. > :03:07.proposals. Traffic, there's too many on our
:03:08. > :03:10.roads. A view held by many people in the island including the Environment
:03:11. > :03:20.Department. And it now wants to reduce the dominance of the private
:03:21. > :03:29.motor vehicle. More cycle lanes, bus routes and increased frequency. But
:03:30. > :03:32.there are also more ambitious proposals. This report contains a
:03:33. > :03:36.lot of information, but some of the key suggestions are to make all bus
:03:37. > :03:39.journeys free apart from the night service. It also proposes
:03:40. > :03:42.introducing a one`off width tax and a carbon emissions tax when new or
:03:43. > :03:45.second hand vehicles are registered in the island. And it wouldn't be a
:03:46. > :03:48.transport strategy without some mention of paid parking, but
:03:49. > :03:58.interestingly there are no plans to introduce it. If you don't have to
:03:59. > :04:05.use your car look at other ways you can travel ` walk, cycle, the bus or
:04:06. > :04:07.car share. Just give it a bit of thought.
:04:08. > :04:10.However, there are divisions within the Environment department as two of
:04:11. > :04:17.the five board members are submitting their own proposals and
:04:18. > :04:24.one is to have paid parking. There will be provision of funding for a
:04:25. > :04:32.much needed bus depot which is not mentioned in the report. We are not
:04:33. > :04:36.proposing any increase in fuel duty but we will propose paid parking for
:04:37. > :04:39.long stay in St Peter Port. We've heard from the politicians and
:04:40. > :04:44.their vision but what do you think of their vision to encourage us out
:04:45. > :04:50.of our cars? It is a bit like saying to people go back using a mashed ``
:04:51. > :04:55.manual washing machine. We have got used to it and we like it and we
:04:56. > :05:01.don't want to go back to something not as good. Why don't they do
:05:02. > :05:08.smaller buses for people. The buses are too big and wide. The people
:05:09. > :05:11.shouting about it ought to count and see how many they have got in their
:05:12. > :05:15.own backyard. There are many other proposals to
:05:16. > :05:17.get the island out of its traffic jam, and next month it'll be up to
:05:18. > :05:26.the States to decide. A by`election is to be held in
:05:27. > :05:37.Alderney to elect a new States Member. It follows the death of Paul
:05:38. > :05:41.Arditti earlier this year. Voting will take place on the April 12th.
:05:42. > :05:44.Sport, and in rugby a disappointing evening for Jersey. They lost 25`23
:05:45. > :05:52.away at Ealing tonight despite leading early on in the game. A win
:05:53. > :05:56.for the islanders would have almost secured their place in the division
:05:57. > :06:01.and put their opponents on the brink of relegation.
:06:02. > :06:04.Guernsey FC take on league leaders Peacehaven and Telscombe tomorrow.
:06:05. > :06:07.It's the second away game for the Green Lions who beat Whitstable 3`1
:06:08. > :06:15.on Thursday. Full coverage on BBC Radio Guernsey from 12.45 tomorrow.
:06:16. > :06:31.Good evening. An unsettled weekend ahead. Some heavy showers but drier
:06:32. > :06:37.weather on Sunday in the afternoon. Temperatures will be in single
:06:38. > :06:46.figures. The showers will smooth through overnight and be replaced by
:06:47. > :06:53.some clear skies. Quite a cold start to the morning. Winds from the west
:06:54. > :06:59.or south west and plenty of showers tomorrow. Some sunshine every now
:07:00. > :07:05.and then. Showers will die down towards the end of the day. On
:07:06. > :07:11.Sunday, showers in the morning but they will become lighter and
:07:12. > :07:16.isolated by the afternoon. Quite breezy so feeling quite cold in the
:07:17. > :07:21.winter chill. After a bright start on Monday, it will cloud up and then
:07:22. > :07:27.we will see showers on Tuesday. Quite unsettled over the next four
:07:28. > :07:32.days. If all forecast in a second for the UK. Good night from us.
:07:33. > :07:40.you with our summary, but now, the National forecast.
:07:41. > :07:45.Good evening. If you can cast your mind back to this time last week, we
:07:46. > :07:49.were looking forward to sunshine and warmth, we got temperatures of 20
:07:50. > :07:56.Celsius. This weekend, it will be cold and windy, with showers. We saw
:07:57. > :08:00.quite a few earlier on today, then this organised band of cloud,
:08:01. > :08:09.containing gusty wind, rain, sleet and snow. Some gusty wind and
:08:10. > :08:14.blustery Wayne moving east, clearing out to the North Sea, and further
:08:15. > :08:19.wintry showers coming in overnight. It will turn quite cold, with icy
:08:20. > :08:25.conditions expected in parts of Wales, and into Scotland. Do not be
:08:26. > :08:30.surprised to see a dusting of snow in the south-west of England, but
:08:31. > :08:34.apart from that, it is a windy morning with a bit of sunshine and
:08:35. > :08:40.heavy early showers. Some showers across Wales in the morning.
:08:41. > :08:41.Potential for ice in parts of