Your great ideas to improve the Isle of Wight: Tourism and Economy

Just before the Christmas break we asked what one thing you’d change about the Island in order to improve it.

Readers were swift to reply and responses poured in over the holiday period.

There were a range of ideas, but for ease, we thought we’d break them up into categories and feature different ideas each week.

Last week we featured your transport ideas and this week, it’s the turn of economy and tourism.

Here’s what you had to say about how to improve the Isle of Wight

Positive thinking. Think about what I can do to improve the Island not what the Island can do for me.
old bull

For me we don’t make the most of our biggest asset, the coast and beaches. Some people seem to have become obsessed with trying to bring industry to the Island (if you owed a big company why would you ever do that?)and yet the biggest thing that we should be making the most of – the coast, is sad, neglected and often dirty. Let’s try and be good at what we are and what we have. Let’s make our beaches and beach facilities the best there are and give people a reason to come over on the ferry (yes, the ferry, no bridge or tunnel for me). Let’s concentrate on being a great tourist spot, I’m convinced that it can be done.
Peter Daws

A comprehensive re think on how we can help the Island youth gain worthwhile employment on the mainland without being penalised with travel costs. Getting up and getting home two hours before or after most people is enough.
DAVID WALTERS

I would create more job opportunities for younger people and families at all levels – from unskilled jobs to higher paid professional posts – to encourage younger families to come here to live, or encourage those who plan to go to the mainland to stay instead. This would mean a gradual swing from ‘bucket and spade’ tourism as the main-stay of our economy to a more light industrial and design economy. Apprenticeships, education to 6th Form and excellent opportunities in consultant-level medicine are the first to be addressed. This should be a swing, not a violent knee-jerk and should be planned across several election/political periods i.e. a fifteen to twenty year plan, not a three year plan. This would need initial seed-finance but increasing excellence would attract the excellent and in time become self-fulfilling.
David Walter