Simon shares this latest news on behalf of Visit Isle of Wight. Ed
The figures for the Island’s tourism industry in 2018 have been released.
Research – compiled by Tourism South East – shows that more people are coming to the Island as a tourist and the amount they spend has increased.
Still one of top places in UK to visit
It means that Visit Isle of Wight has helped to ensure that the Island is still one of the top places in the UK to visit.
2018 saw an increase in the total visitor spend over the year – up by 9% to £303 millions – which means an average spend per head/per trip of £127.92
Holiday visits to the Isle of Wight also saw an increase of 5% compared to 2017.
Rise on longer stays
Although short breaks fell by 2% across the year, holidaymakers spending five nights or more saw a significant rise of 19% in 2018.
Will Myles, Managing Director of Visit Isle of Wight said:
“It was definitely a year where all the seasons came in to play! It was heavy snow when I first started my job in March this year, there’s been rain through Easter and we saw at the end of August lots of heavy rain, glorious temperatures for much of the summer, it’s been amazing.”
Out of season visitors rise
Visit Isle of Wight’s remit to increase visitors to the Island in the ‘shoulder’* months has shown an increase of 9.2% compared to the previous year.**
Will continued:
“We’ve seen visitor figures increase through the shoulder seasons, certainly in Quarter 1 which was up by 0.2% and in Quarter 4, October, November and December which was up by 9%. These figures are demonstrating that our goal to increase visitors here throughout the year is continuing to succeed.
“This can only happen with the unceasing support of tourism businesses through the Wight BID, through voluntary contributors and obviously through our strategic business partners as well. It’s crucial that we continue to work in this way and to keep the Island in the spotlight, to make sure it is the destination of choice.”
Praise for VIOW team
Will also paid tribute to the small team at Visit Isle of Wight for making the most of the budget available to them:
“We’ve got a small team here at Visit Isle of Wight. They make it possible! We don’t have as much marketing spend as some of the other regions. It’s great that our team work together, continuing to get first time visitors here, changing them into regular visitors who will come back time and time again and hopefully, we’ll get more people coming in 2019 with our ‘Discover the Isle of Wight for…’ campaign.
“Looking at the national picture, the Visit England statistics available at the moment show that the Isle of Wight is doing really well in it’s competitive set.”
Fox: Very pleased with success of campaign
Abi Fox, Brand Manager at Visit Isle Of Wight said:
“We’re delighted with the success of last year’s campaigns and the results they have brought for the Island. We recently launched our ‘Discover the Isle of Wight for…’ campaign during Twixmas 2018 giving people more reasons to visit the Island along with the chance to enter a competition to win a holiday worth over £2,500.
“We’re very pleased with the success of the campaign so far and look forward to continue working with Island businesses throughout 2019.”
£3.9 millions worth of media coverage
Visit Isle of Wight has also helped generate an incredible £3.9 millions worth of media coverage for the Island, which accounts for an increase of 42% on 2017.***
Journalists and TV producers who are looking for items for their media outlets will contact Visit Isle of Wight to discover what the Island has to offer. When they do, they liaise with Visit Isle of Wight Press Officer, Sue Emmerson.
Interest from journalists higher than ever
Sue said:
“The level of press engagement in 2018 has clearly had a positive impact in getting the word out about what the Isle of Wight has to offer, and so far this year, interest from journalists has been even higher.
“The involvement from businesses here on the Island is crucial in demonstrating what there is to discover on the Isle of Wight – from exciting attractions and events, great walking and cycling routes, picturesque villages, seaside resorts and historic towns, and of course great locally sourced food and drink.”
