Isle of Man tourism bosses focus on extreme sports

The finish line for the TT triathlon at the end of June will be at the grandstand

The tourism department is looking at developing the Isle of Man as a holiday centre for extreme sport enthusiasts.

In a bid to diversify the Manx economy, efforts will be made to explore the niche market, according to an economic development department spokesman.

The areas being considered include mountain biking, open-water swimming, coasteering and adventure races.

Director of Manxtreme.com, Simon Crellin said the island has the potential to become a leading venue.

"We have remote fells, rugged mountain terrain, open water swimming potential and luckily for us, it's all in the same place so there are no issues about spending hours travelling around," he said.

"More importantly though, we already have a huge appetite for sport here as well as an established infrastructure of fantastic events- we want to communicate those events more effectively to people who don't live here."

TT triathlon

Tourism officials are working with Mr Crellin to work out ways forward but plans are already in place to maximise what already exists.

Over time it is hoped the Manxtreme website will centralise registration for all events, opening them up globally with the use of online registration.

"The idea of the website is to get everything going on at a local level in one place which will make it easier to promote and more cost effective," continued Mr Crellin.

"We are also working with the organisers of a new event called the TT triathlon which involves an open-water swim, the equivalent of three laps of the TT course on a bike followed by a full marathon- the transition section and finish will be at the TT grandstand."

The endurance race will take place on 30 June 2013.