The Isle of Man's director of tourism will retire later this year.

Geoff Le Page will leave his post at the end of October after having worked for the Department of Tourism and Leisure for twelve years.

He was born in Guernsey, educated at Elizabeth College and worked for a number of holiday companies before taking up his position in the Isle of Man.

Tourism and Leisure Minister Martyn Quayle is paying this tribute:

"Geoff has shown tremendous commitment, enthusiasm and loyalty throughout the years and I would like to thank him for his dedication and support during his career with the Isle of Man Department of Tourism and Leisure.

"Whilst always striving to do his best for tourism, he has always been supportive of his staff who want to progress and develop, and I know his friendship will be greatly missed by his colleagues. We all wish him the best for the future."

Mr Le Page says his twelve years in the Isle of Man have been exciting and challenging:

"I would like to thank all my colleagues in the department, government and the industry because meeting all the challenges and changes tourism has undergone over the twelve years could not have been achieved without them. I'm looking forward to keeping busy in my retirement as well as finding time to travel."