IOW Tours, a mainstay on the Isle of Wight, delivering affordable holidays around the country and beyond, have been forced to cease trading due to the impact of Covid-19.
The IOW Tours Team, led by MD Shirley Winn, said over 90% of their trade for the year had been wiped out by Covid-19. On top of this, people have started to cancel 2021 bookings.
They said they have tried hard to keep going for their customers, but were just unable to keep their heads above water.
At pains to reimburse people who have prepaid, they say their money will be protected due to a bond they hold under the Bonded Coach Holidays scheme.
IOW Tours took pride in offering affordable holidays. One strong part of the business was special interest holidays such as specialist sequence, square, ballroom and line dancing holidays and for the sports enthusiasts – Bowls, skittles, petanque, darts, golf and fishing trips.
Shirely: “We loved doing what we did”
News OnTheWight spoke to Shirley Winn Thursday afternoon, who has had a 42-year career in the business, 30 of them with IOW Tours.
It’s clear that it was more than a business to Shirley, “We loved doing what we did.”
They not only served Islanders, taking them away, but had clients all over the country – bringing them to the Island and between many other locations around the country.
From their small office in Lake, the business was a national powerhouse. Winners of national “Best Group Tour Operator” at the prestigious Group Travel Awards six times, most recently only last month, Shirley told us that they served 50,000 customers a year.
“Since March we hit a brick wall,” she said. To give some idea of how hard the business has been impacted, in September they’d normally be doing 115 tours. This year, in the shadow of Covid, they were down to just five.
Impact: wide and deep
The impact of this closure will be wide and deep.
Of course, it’s not just IOW Tours that will be impacted by this business closure, but all of the other businesses that they transported people to and from – Isle of Wight hotels, tea rooms and attractions – as well as the same across the Mainland.
On the human level, it’s unclear what the long term impact of this might be, as Shirley told News OnTheWight, there was a large social and positive mental health benefit for those who went away on holiday for them – “They went away as strangers and came back friends.” It’s unclear if that will be able to be replaced.
Unlike other Isle of Wight businesses that have been in the news, when Shirley had exhausted all routes and knew that IOW Tours were likely to close, they stopped taking people’s money, “I couldn’t live with myself otherwise,” she told us.
Determination
One of the last holidays they were able to run was a dancing holiday for 60 people to Jersey. Shortly before the long-booked trip was due to set off the Government there issued an official notice that dancing wouldn’t be allowed.
This might have defeated other companies, but not Shirely and her team.
Not wishing to let the 60 people down that were booked, Shirely and their team worked to make it work, putting on three hours of entertainment for the holidaymakers, making it a success.
Thank you for letting us look after you
IOW Tours parting message to past customers was:
“We want to thank you for allowing us to have looked after you, some of our customers have been loyal to us for all 31 years we have been trading. We have laughed together, cried together and enjoyed each other’s company over the years, and we are really going to miss each and everyone one of you.”
Last year – 30th anniversary
2019 was a big year for IOW Tours as they celebrated their 30th anniversary
Reading what they said in happier times is heart-breaking:
“In 2019 we are celebrating our 30th Birthday and hope to look our after customers for another 30!”
