Attracting the floating pound

Does Guernsey PLC make money from the visiting cruise liners which are becoming a regular feature off St Peter Port?
 
It’s a simple question but not one that anybody seems to have answered with any confidence.
 
The question sounds easy. Thousands of people flooding into Town and then over the Island; people with time to spare and money to spend. Of course it must be profitable.
 
But when we have a Sunday visit, how many shops open specifically for the boats? Hardly any because the shopkeepers say it’s not profitable.
 
So, maybe not such a simple question after all.
 
If the profit margin is so low that might explain why business in general doesn’t seem to want to invest in this potential industry. 

Perhaps they see it as the short term bubble that it might turn into.
 
If Jersey develop better facilities then the boats will go there. Or would they? In a straight fight, which Island would you prefer to visit? One that has a town just like the one you’ve live near, or St Peter Port? Outside of town, the islands are geographically similar but, with more space perhaps the other island might win out. Each Island has it’s attractions so Guernsey wouldn’t be a clear winner, despite what we may like to think.
 
Can we develop a viable industry from these liner passengers? If so, how much do we need to invest and what sort of return can we expect?
 
We’ve done reasonably well so far with minimal investment, but as recent events have shown, problems will arise if we can’t provide what these big ships need.
 
Do we want to make substantial capital investments to encourage this industry?
 
I suspect the answer might be no as spending millions could leave us with a deep water berth and no ships to fill it when the cruising industry declines or goes elsewhere.
 
So unless someone can come up with figures showing the worth of this industry it might be better to make hay while the sun shines and look around for something more sustainable to develop for the long term future of Guernsey.