The future is challenging, but not bleak, according to the Isle of Wight’s tourism chief.
Speaking at a meeting of the Isle of Wight Council’s policy and scrutiny regeneration and neighbourhoods committee, Will Myles, managing director of Visit Isle of Wight, said COVID-19 couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Island and its businesses.
He pointed to research by Hotel Solutions, used by the government, that suggested, nationally, up to 30% of coastal tourism and seaside businesses could be lost over the next 6 months. He said:
“Just as businesses were coming out of partial hibernation over the winter, spending their money [to get ready] only to be suddenly shut down — quite understandably so — but it couldn’t have happened at a worse time.
“It is not a bleak future but a challenging one. I do think we are stronger together as an Island and there will be some businesses that just don’t make it through the winter.
“It could be less, it could be more than 30 per cent, depending on how people have run their summer.”
His hopes were high for a strong October half-term but he felt the rule of six would have an impact on certain Island business. Will said:
“Why would you want to go anywhere else? Our new marketing material talks about ‘paradise is waiting’.
Article continues below this advertisement “Visit Isle of Wight had a major marketing campaign about to go live, on March 23, in London. to promote the Island for Easter and beyond but we had to pull that at the very last minute.”
Mr Myles said it was important to be sensitive about putting the right message out, as it could be ‘correct at 10:00 but not at 16:00 the same day’ due to government announcements.
Despite the challenges the Island has faced over the summer, councillors who were part of the tourism sector said their businesses had been busy after July.
Using the latest confidence tracker from Visit Britain, Mr Myles said 58% of people polled think the worse of the virus was still to come, something he called ‘quite scary’. Only 6%, of the 1,500 people used in the survey thought things would be back to normal by December.
Hypocrite, didn’t stop for from moaning and complaining about the lack of visitors. You were practically enticing people to come over as soon as things started to ease off, now look at the Island, a mess. Thanks. You simply didn’t give a damn about us who live here.
pointless – all he does is talk and live off the backs of hardworking business owners through the IW bid tax. Businesses are perfectly capable of advertising their services without this leech making it harder, by demanding money, so that these no hopers can live off them, like parasites.
visit isle of wight needs shutting down and the bid levy cancelled – we did just fine without them, dreaming up another way of rinsing money off hard working business owners.
You talk absolute lies and nonsense .
Just as well not too many tourists are here, they would never return having experienced the mess the council have made with St Marys junction and the chain ferry fiasco making the roads hell
I expect a lot of visitors will not be returning after being robbed to get onto the Island and then finding there isn’t much for people to do.
Was shocked at how much you have to pay now for a round of crazy golf, over £6 !
Unless like the said C llr, you are milking such whilst taking advantage of desperate to earn a little easy cash, then some will welcome less crowded beaches, roads, shops whilst the virus silently takes our vulnerable a few at a time.
If the vaccine comes soon, and works, then visitor number may return to a more normal and reasonable level, but not if more illegal freeloaders are free to pillage, can’t see many visitors coming here then, as most come to somewhere like this atm pleasant place to escape such horrors.
The rule of 6 must apply to anyone who crosses to the island.
With Universities and schools being hotspots for covid-19 its a pity that we are not in local lockdown already and anyone wishing for lots of families with children to come here in the next two weeks is not considering the impact on local residents, who when the holiday makers go home will be left with a potential serious outbreak and our NHS not being able to cope.
Help our NHS and local residents and make sure people obey the rules.