A TOURISM boom sparked by summer sun has pumped an extra £21 million into the Isle of Wight economy.
And the headline figure in the latest peak season statistics put together by the Island’s tourism organisation, Visit Isle of Wight, show the highest number of short-break visitors in eight years — 37 per cent more than 2012.
The buoyant news comes near the end of the first year that David Thornton has been at the helm of Visit Isle of Wight, established with Isle of Wight Council and commercial cash.
“The weather helps put people in the holiday mood but doesn’t specifically benefit the Island any more than Cornwall, Devon or the Lake District.
“To get genuine growth in short breaks — the best figures for a considerable number of years — shows we are fighting back and stealing market share as well as capitalising on the good weather.
“We expect this improvement trend to continue into 2014 with accelerated growth towards the end of the year,” he said.
For the full story and all the figures, see the Isle of Wight County Press today (Friday, October 11).
Reporter: richardw@iwcpmail.co.uk Source: Isle of Wight County Press
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