Gone to the Costas, but the unique Isle of Man could win back the tourists lost to sunnier Med destinations like Spain, Italy and Greece by marketing its many “differences”.

By Terry Walker

AS 24012024

10 min read

This became one of the objectives of the media and marketing contract London Mayfair-based Grafton Public Relations provided for the Isle of Man Government in the 1970s. First, we suggested that we emphasise the “differences” between that place and the rest of the British Isles. Press releases and briefings to travel writers, general media and TV holiday programmes like Wish You Were Here, always stressed what made it such a unique place.

The Isle of Man might be geographically part of the British Isles, but it was not a member country of the United Kingdom.

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Island comprise the UK, while Eire, the Channel Islands and the Isle Man are independent, each with its own Parliament and self-governance and own taxation. Not a lot of people knew that at the time. In the case of the Isle of Man (and the Channel Islands), the income tax was so low that it has long attracted wealthy UK executives to practise the art of tax avoidance with offshore companies, residences, and secret bank accounts.

That one “difference” earned the Island – and Channel Islands – loadsa dosh and produced many new job opportunities.

But, tourism in the Isle of Man, the traditional “big earner”, was shrinking, as package holidays to Spain and other sunnier climes reduced the Manx arrivals to a fraction of what they had been in the halcyon years of Wakes Week holidays. That was when thousands of workers from Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool and other Northern industrial towns caught the ferry across from Liverpool for a holiday on the Isle of Man.

Real ale pubs by law

They came for the green countryside, long sandy beaches, magical leafy glens and great nights out in concert halls and old-fashioned real pubs that, by local decree, could sell only real ale. There were, and remain, typical seaside attractions in Douglas and a range of heritage transportation – steam, electricity and horsepower – to visit other scenic places and resorts.

The island may have mature palm trees and semi-tropical greenery, but the weather is no better than in mainland Britain. The Isle of Man is washed by the warming Gulf Stream that keeps it very temperate, but it can be deluged by Atlantic rain clouds that deposit bucket-loads – bounced across the Irish Sea from the Mountains of Mourne. Mainly, though, the Mourne Bounce sends rain clouds further to reach the Lake District on mainland England, where the very name provides its regular weather forecast.

There is not much difference in the climate, so how can we boost the important big earner of tourism and regain some of the visitors and vital revenue lost to Spain and other Med destinations? With tourist board officials, my Grafton partners and I looked carefully at the prospects for special interest holidays: Fell walking, bike trails, vintage transport, dance and sporting festivals, fishing, and whale and basking shark watching. These activities, and others, existed and could be developed with targeted investment and marketing.

The Manx Government realised tourism would no longer be a numbers game – the mass market was lost to the Costas, probably forever. The Island’s tourism bosses were keen to pursue different niche and special interest markets that could be enhanced by the unique elements of place, form, tradition and heritage.

The most significant special interest had to be the famous Isle of Man TT Races when 40,000 bikers descended on the island. They came to watch daredevil riders whizzing along standard roads and streets at speeds up to 200 miles an hour. It was always a week-long fest of adrenalin-fuelled racing and alcohol-fuelled mayhem that meant everybody had a great time and promised to return to the most dangerous race on the planet –“‘til death do us part.” There have been 242 rider deaths in the 107 occasions the races have been staged since 1907.

The carnival atmosphere of TT week peaks on “Mad Sunday”, when every visiting biker has unfettered access to the 37-mile long TT course and can give it some throttle. Thousands of bikers soaking up the thrills of sharp bends, long high-speed straights and the sensation of flying across humped Ballough Bridge adds up to a unique, very scary experience.

TT detractors often count up the dead riders and biker fans who never made it around the circuit and call for the event to be abandoned. It has been described as the most dangerous sports event on the planet due to the high death rate.

Many headed for a Costa holiday

Because of this, it lost its official status in 1976 after 10-time TT winner Giacomo Agostini and other pro riders boycotted the event, and the once most prestigious race on the Grand Prix calendar was stripped of its world championship involvement. Despite that setback, the event continues to prosper and attracts record numbers of fans worldwide.

The local business owners had a wonderful time, too, and spent days counting up their newly provided wealth and deciding how to spend it at the end of the holiday season. Many headed for a Costa holiday on direct chartered flights.

However, the island needed other “special interest” visitors to survive against the Mediterranean attractions. What role could the media play in getting that message across?

Experience special interest activities

Would it be possible to enlist the aid of prime opinion formers, the ladies and gentlemen of the Press who might appreciate a freebie trip to the Isle of Man and could help to put in a good word to their readers?

After further meetings with the Manx Government, we finalised a special interest tourism strategy that we could test via an official press trip, the biggest ever, to the island. And we had a television crew included.

The media people could experience all the special interest activities like hill walking, beach combing, bird watching, cycling, golf, tennis, rugby and football, etc we were hoping these different activities would replace the lost bucket and spade holidaymakers and help the island’s tourism survive. The unspoiled beaches and clear sea would always be major attractions at the height of summer, but we also want to increase arrivals in the shoulder periods of the year.

We compiled an invitation list covering travel media, provincial, special interest and national media. We finished up with a dozen journalists representing national, regional and city publications and a film crew assembling at Liverpool Pierhead to board a brand new ferry, the Lady of Mann II, for the 77-mile crossing to the Isle of Man.

The new ferry was fast, smooth and comfortable and the local Manx ales travelled well enough to keep us occupied and excitable when we were invited by the ship’s master to the bridge for the first view of the Island.

When we disembarked we did a press team photoshoot with my new Citroen CX company car, driven from the car deck of the ferry, included.  It was the first of those models to be seen on the island. I thought it would be helpful in side trips to distant attractions – especially as there are no speed limits on island roads.

Free drinks for gamblers

Our party was booked into the Palace Hotel & Casino on the promenade of the island capital, Douglas, where everyone was given a bay view room in the newest part of the hotel and invited for welcome drinks with officials and to sample local cuisine at the restaurant.

The heart of Manx social life is the infamous Round Bar at the Casino and that’s where we assembled for our first look at something different – Britain’s only public casino. It’s not Monte Carlo, but there are gaming tables, one-armed bandits, and free drinks for gamblers who can stay until 3am or whenever they have lost all their cash – whichever comes sooner.

There was cabaret and dancing, but despite those temptations, everyone in the press party boarded the coach the following day on time for their first look at this different place.

Protected from the wrath of fairies

The Manx are a different people and harbour superstitions about fairies, giants and certain animals. A few miles south of Douglas, our guide on the coach PA warned the passengers about the wrath of the fairies who live at Fairy Bridge that’s “coming up in a few minutes”. It is the custom that every Manx person adheres to, which is that they should greet the fairies as they cross the bridge, and if they don’t, something untoward will happen to them.

The press party were encouraged to practise “Good morning little people” as the coach crawled slowly across the tree-lined haunt of the fairies. An onboard film crew recorded the muted response and then demanded a more robust communal greeting. The coach went back and forth several more times before the sound recordist was happy, antics that presumably had the watching little people in raptures.

But, our greetings meant we were protected from the wrath of the fairies for the rest of the day. I noticed one of the journalists had not fully participated, but you couldn’t blame a serious writer from a broadsheet national newspaper for being a bit dubious, could you? However, I couldn’t help but wonder what his fate might be. 

We pressed on and toured Castletown Brewery and the 12th-century Castle Rushen, which was the last Royalist stronghold to fall in the English Civil War. It is said to be the best-preserved castle in Europe and big enough to get lost in – as happened to the guide presenter in this video tour.

A large clock presented by Queen Elizabeth I in 1597 still keeps good time for the Castletown folk who are used to the fact it lacks a minute hand. Time passes slowly on the island, based on the old Manx saying “Traa-dy-Llooar, ” meaning “Time enough”. It makes the Spanish “Hasta manaña” look pretty damned quick. The national emblem displaying three legs and a castle clock with only one hand are notable differences on this island.

So is an annual Viking invasion enactment that sees a fleet of longboats landing on Peel Beach to slug it out with staunch defenders. The Vikings always win, but then they must lay on a boozy feast in their nearby Longhouse. It would test the stamina of Fleet Street’s finest drinkers.

By now, there was also something different about our fairy-sceptical reporter as we returned to the coach. Since leaving Liverpool Pierhead, he had been wearing an expensive Astrakhan Nehru-style hat, and it had been on his head throughout the first morning. Now it was missing and he was very concerned.

I thought about his subdued greetings at Fairy Bridge and couldn’t help wondering… Anyway, the headgear was never seen again and cue more folklore of this different place.

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