Departing tourism chief praises Covid bounce back

Ranald Caldwell said the strategy to grow the number of visitors was showing good signs

The Isle of Man tourism sector's recovery from Covid has been "better than most other holiday destinations", the departing chairman of the visit agency has said.

Ranald Caldwell is set to step down from the role at Visit Isle of Man once the recruitment process for his successor is complete.

Mr Caldwell has been chairman since the non-executive agency model, which saw the formation of a strategy to work closer with businesses, was created.

He said he leaves the role "very much like a proud father who has seen their child grow up".

Mr Caldwell said the agency was created to bring a "bottom up" focus to tourism by maximising the economic potential of the visitor economy.

The board had launched its short term visitor strategy just as the sector faced its biggest challenge in a generation as Covid-19 arrived.

'Encouraging'

"Our first task was to work with industry to establish the level of support required, get it approved and released as quickly as possible," Mr Caldwell said.

He praised the sector for its own perseverance, the government's financial assistance and the Visit team who worked to assist applicants.

He said while the recovery was ongoing, the increasing levels of visitor numbers was "welcome and encouraging".

A 10-year strategy released in May 2022 set out ambitious targets including 500,000 annual visitors and an annual economic benefit of £520m by 2032.

That strategy is showing good signs so far, with 2023 seeing 318,000 visitors, the highest17 years, and figures for 2024 were on track for 330,000 visitors by the end of the year, he said.

Mr Caldwell will be taking on a new role as chairman of the Destination First Board, which has the objective of improving the service and experience delivered to residents and visitors.

Why not follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]