Almost 100 Wight BID levy payers who have not settled their bill for the 2016/17 season were the subject of summons hearings at the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court yesterday (Monday).
From a total of 1,012 businesses 97 have not paid their levy, despite receiving reminders from the Isle of Wight council and Visit Isle of Wight.
Voted for by the industry
Following the Court hearings David Thornton (CEO of Visit Isle of Wight) said,
“Our intention is not to make life harder for businesses struggling to keep going on the Island, but to assist them to develop and grow their income from tourism. The BID plan lays out the strategy and many of the ways in which we hope to do that.
“This was voted for, by the Industry, and it is our statutory obligation to carry this plan out for their benefit.
“I have heard that the WIGHT BID was a surprise to a few – despite the letters and publicity we sent out to all last year, and also that any request for funds can be seen as adding to their woes. But I also believe that the WIGHT BID fund will be put to good use to increase visitor numbers in the future and that with everyone’s support, advice and guidance this can be achieved within the five-year lifetime of the BID.
“I urge those who have paid to follow our work closely and participate in our campaigns so that they can capitalise on their investment.”
Just over £371,000 has now been collected in from the 90% who have paid, and this money is being spent promoting the Isle of Wight between 1st Sept 2016 and 31st August 2017.
Removal of court costs
Following the magistrates hearing, Visit Isle of Wight and Isle of Wight Council will be offering those who appeared in the magistrate’s courts yesterday an opportunity to have their court costs removed by attending a three-hour presentation on 16th March that will explain the benefits of the WIGHT BID, why this statutory process was selected, and how to make the most of it.
Get in touch with VisitIW for more detail.
Appeals procedure
Visit Isle of Wight launched an appeals procedure in November, and invited any prospective levy payer who disagreed with their inclusion in the scheme to submit a formal appeal which would be considered by the Wight BID’s revenue admin group.
Over the last two months, a small number of businesses were removed from the BID through the appeals process. The remainder have been asked to pay.
The appeal criteria can be read on the VisitWight Pro Website.
More about the Wight BID
The aim of the BID is to attract 60,000 new or long term lapsed visitors a year to the Island, whilst making sure that regular visitors keep coming back, and don’t get lured away by competing destinations.
60,000 new staying and day trip visitors a year would return an additional £10million into the local economy, and represents a return on investment of around 25:1
Visit Isle of Wight has created 14 campaigns to attract new visitors during the first BID year, and these are all detailed on https://visitwightpro.com/campaigns-timetable/
All levy payers were invited to consider joining the marketing panel to help develop the campaign plan and make sure that as many levy payers as possible benefit from the work. 27 panel members from the accommodation, attractions, food and drink and transport sectors are now meeting monthly to shape and maximise the campaign plan for this year.
