Durrell's unique place in Jersey's economy
An economic assessment of Durrell across eight outcome areas, estimating a gross economic contribution of £12.5 million in 2024. The first in a series on Durrell's impact in Jersey.
Introduction
Durrell is a familiar part of Jersey life. Generations of islanders have brought their children there, learned about wildlife, and watched a globally recognised conservation programme grow from a small zoo into an international operation. But its role in Jersey extends well beyond what most people see at the zoo itself.
This is the first in a series of studies on Durrell's impact in Jersey. This article focuses on economic contribution. Later this year, Durrell is planning to explore its wider social and environmental impacts in Jersey and across its international field programmes. Using our framework of eight economic outcomes, we found that Durrell's contribution to Jersey is broader, and more interconnected with the wider economy, than is often recognised.
In 2024, Durrell's gross economic contribution was estimated at £12.5 million. It also supported nearly 200 roles, placing it among the island's larger charitable organisations and in the top 2% of local employers by employment size. For context, Jersey's total GVA in 2024 was approximately £8.6 billion, and its visitor economy supports around 7,000 jobs. Among the most striking findings are the scale of Durrell's employment footprint, the 342 volunteers who contributed 45,685 hours in 2024, and the £1.13 million of income associated with demand drawn into Jersey from outside the island.
Headline 2024
£12.5m
Gross economic contribution across eight outcome areas.
Outcome areas
Outcomes: 02 · 03 · 05
£6.5m
employee compensation
Jobs and incomes
Durrell employed 188 people in Jersey in 2024, across specialist scientific and conservation roles as well as the operational functions needed to run one of the island's most-visited attractions. On a full-time equivalent basis, that equates to around 144 FTEs. Total employee compensation reached £6.5 million, highlighting the organisation's role as a major island employer and its contribution to conservation and public benefit.
Productivity and value
On value creation, Durrell's GVA multiplier, the economic value generated in Jersey for every £1 it spends, is estimated at £1.77, compared with a Jersey economy average of roughly £1.55. This stronger multiplier reflects the depth of Durrell's local procurement. Organisations that buy locally tend to generate more of their impact on-island, and Durrell's supply chain is predominantly Jersey-based.
Outcomes: 01 · 04
£3.4m
local supplier spend
Local business and wider spillovers
Durrell spent around £3.4 million with Jersey-based suppliers in 2024, covering everything from food and facilities to specialist services. When those supply-chain effects ripple through the wider economy, the assessment estimates they supported around 80 further FTEs and £5 million in additional GVA through procurement and household-spending effects. In employment terms, that is broadly in line with Jersey-wide averages.
Volunteering extends that reach further. In 2024, 342 volunteers contributed 45,685 hours, with an estimated value of around £875,000 based on the profile of work undertaken. On a full-time equivalent basis, that is roughly 28.5 FTEs; equal to 20% of its paid staff. Durrell also benefits from substantial pro-bono support from its specialist partners, a contribution not fully captured in the figures above, but one it is looking to quantify to better understand its dependence on local goodwill. Together, these are crowd-in benefits: external capacity mobilised by Durrell's mission at minimal direct cost to the organisation, and a sign of the depth of community involvement around it.
Outcomes: 06
£453k
R&D investment
Research and specialist capability
In 2024 alone, Durrell invested over £450,000 in research and development (R&D) locally. That figure might sound modest in isolation, but it sustains something Jersey cannot easily replace: an organisation whose research is internationally recognised and whose specialist workforce sits at the intersection of science, international conservation practice and public engagement.
For a small island economy, that matters beyond Durrell's own programme. Jersey competes to attract and retain people with rare and internationally mobile skills, including conservation scientists, wildlife specialists and research practitioners. Durrell helps make those careers viable on the island. That strengthens a wider ecosystem of specialist employment that would otherwise require significant public investment, or risk being lost altogether.
Outcomes: 07
£1.3m
net to Government of Jersey
Tax and fiscal contribution
The assessment estimates Durrell's activity generated around £650,000 in income tax and £645,000 in social contributions in 2024, producing an estimated £1.3 million net fiscal contribution to the Government of Jersey. Net fiscal contribution is reported after deducting any government funding received in the year, however in 2024 Durrell did not recieve any relating to its Jersey operations. This is therefore a genuine measure of what flows to the public purse rather than simply what is generated.
Fiscal contribution flow to the Government of Jersey
£650k
Income tax associated with employment activity
£646k
Social contributions from payroll
Government of Jersey
£1.3m
Net fiscal contribution after deducting government funding received (2024, estimated)
Net of any government funding received. Estimates associated with Durrell's employment and spending activity; not audited cash flows.
Outcomes: 08
£1.13m
imported demand
International income
In 2024, Durrell's activity was associated with an estimated £720,000 in direct tourist spend, £170,000 in international membership income and £245,000 in accommodation income, each representing demand drawn into Jersey from outside the island.
Jersey is a small, open economy: domestic demand circulates within a limited pool, and growth in spending ultimately depends on new income entering from outside. Each of these streams represents exactly that, money drawn into Jersey by Durrell's conservation brand and international reputation, from visitors who would not otherwise come and relationships that extend well beyond the island. That includes a meaningful contribution to the island's visitor proposition.
Closer collaboration with Visit Jersey and island accommodation providers could help unlock further revenue of this kind, supporting both conservation activity and the wider visitor economy. But it also creates exposure: tourist visitor numbers are not Durrell's to control, and that financial dependency is worth recognising and understanding.
What the framework shows, and what it doesn't
The eight outcome areas in our framework are designed to capture how an organisation contributes across the full range of economic activity, not just jobs and spending, but innovation, fiscal flows, international income and the more intangible effects of volunteering and capability-building. What the framework also helps show is where Durrell's contribution depends on wider systems: its economic footprint is bound up with Jersey's visitor economy, labour market, supplier base and therefore its long-term viability.
912k
people connected to nature, 8 yrs
Beyond the economic assessment
This assessment focused on economic contribution. It does not capture everything that matters.
People connected to nature (8 yrs)
Paid staff on island
Volunteers
Scale is proportional. The 912,000 figure sits outside the scope of an economic framework, it requires a different kind of assessment. Both types of contribution are real; they need different lenses to measure.
Durrell's local conservation work, education and training activity, and the social effects of providing meaningful public engagement in a small island community are all part of its role, but they require a different kind of assessment to quantify properly.
What the economic evidence does highlight is the extent to which the organisation's activities support jobs, value creation, local business, innovation, public revenues and international income in Jersey. Those contributions are not incidental to its conservation mission, they are generated by it.
An island that values Durrell's conservation work also, in practical terms, benefits from its economic footprint.
This is the first in a series on Durrell's impact in Jersey. Later this year, Durrell is planning to explore its wider social and environmental impacts in Jersey and across its international field programmes.
Methodology
This assessment was conducted by Derros using its economic impact assessment framework. Figures are based on data provided by Durrell and modelled using standard economic assessment methodology. Results are estimates and should not be read as audited financial figures.