The 56-room Highlands Hotel at Corbière – once a thriving hotel which could accommodate up to 102 guests – has shut.

Its closure has further contributed to the dwindling number of beds in the Island, which, when combining hotels, guest houses and campsites, stood at 10,608 at the end of last year.

This compares to 20,738 in 1997, when 985,000 people visited the Island over the course of the year. During 2017, when taking into account every type of visitor to Jersey, such as conference attendees and visiting yachtsmen, a total of 726,800 people visited the Island.

Hotel Metropole closed in 2015

Keith Beecham, chief executive of Visit Jersey, said that although hotels were often full during the summer, there was still plenty of room during the autumn and winter.

‘What we see is that the bed spaces we have during the summer are generally at capacity,’ he said. ‘What we are trying to do is to attract all-year-round tourists and are working with the industry to achieve that.

‘If we make use of the available capacity during the shoulder months and outside of the summer, then we can achieve much higher visitor numbers.’

He added: ‘Even though we have lost some rooms recently we have also seen some rooms added. The addition of Premier Inn to the Island was a very good sign and they are already looking to open a second hotel in the north of St Helier.

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‘Having a global, well-respected hotel opening here was a very good indicator. And it is not just companies from outside the Island.

‘The Seymour Group is investing in three of its hotels. The Hotel de France is looking to invest in a new restaurant. So local businesses are investing too. There is also AirBNB, which offers hundreds of beds during the summer.’

Shakespeare Hotel closed in 2015

Mr Beecham said he felt there were some areas where Jersey could offer more accommodation, in particular camping and self-catering units.

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‘One area where I think we have an opportunity is campsites. We have very well-run campsites here but I suspect there is additional demand,’ he said.

‘And I would like to see more self-catering, which has been demonstrated to be the fastest-growing sector in accommodation.’

Old Court House in Gorey, which closed in 2015

He added that he would also favour more motor-home spaces, as long as care is taken to consider the impact on the Island’s countryside and small roads.