The Isle of Man has launched a new tourism campaign aimed at growing the island’s visitor numbers to half a million by 2032.
Evergreen campaign showcasing “year-round offering”
“Extraordinary Isle” will be a primarily digital campaign, the island’s tourist agency said, with targeted use of influencers as well as traditional channels. Using local ambassadors to generate “evergreen” year-round seasonal content, the destination, in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland and recognised as one of the Celtic nations, is aiming to “change perceptions” and “showcase the island as a year-round offering”, Director of Marketing and Communications for Visit Isle of Man, Melanie Allen, said. It is offering a toolkit to help local businesses tap in.
Promotional activity kicks off with an upcoming winter push to foreground the island’s commerce and hospitality sector, while spring’s content will focus on the Manx island’s upcoming calendar of culture, heritage, arts and music events. Shining a light on local “stories and folklore” and “landscape and people”, the agency ‘s angle “differentiates the island from other destinations, unearthing its distinct and unique Manx identity, heritage, culture, language and community,” a press release said.
Fresh air, history and culture
More then than 318,000 people travelled to the island in 2023 and a survey by the agency for the same period found 98.9% of visitors were satisfied or very satisfied following their trip. The island is aiming to grow that nearly 60% in the next eight years in a staged campaign to showcase what makes the Island such a special place to live, work, visit and play, with a UNESCO Biosphere status. Social media teasers featuring cycling champion and Manx hero, Sir Mark Cavendish, have already “received fantastic traction,” the release revealed.
Hoping to reach a “large audience base that are already on our doorstep in terms of key hubs across the UK and Ireland”, Allen said the island offers a nearby getaway and the chance to “escape and get into the fresh air, and enjoy the rich history and culture on offer here”.
More visitors, longer stays, higher spends
The government investment in the visitor economy comes as part of the Isle of Man’s 10-year Our Island, Our Future visitor economy strategy released in 2022, which aims to “increase the annual economic contribution of the Island’s Visitor Economy to £520m” by 2032.
To achieve this it is looking to “triple our holiday and short break market as well as grow all of our other visitor markets” or as Allen put it, “to attract not only our existing target audience who are really invested, but new audiences who are maybe younger, more active or people who love the outdoors.”
An increase in visitor numbers to 500,000 is not the only key though. The island anticipates that “a more than doubling of annual visitor spending” can be achieved with average spending per visitor expected to increase and stays lengthening, as well as a drawing out of the seasons.
