The Isle of Man has been named ‘Best Coach Destination of the Year’ at the National Coach Tourism Awards, which took place in Blackpool last night, beating off competition from the likes of Southport and Bournemouth.

The Department of Economic Development’s Head of Tourism Angela Byrne collected the award on behalf of both the Department and the Island’s tourism industry.
 
David Cretney MHK, the Political Member with responsibility for Tourism said:

‘I am thrilled that the Isle of Man has won this award which recognises the efforts that Angela, the Tourism team and our wonderful local partners in the visitor economy have put in to make the Isle of Man a high quality destination for coach parties.
 
‘The Steam Packet, Manx National Heritage, our accommodation providers and those who operate our many attractions are key as to why the Isle of Man has won this award.
 
‘The Isle of Man is an ideal destination for visiting coach groups due to the variety of attractions on offer along with an abundance of quality accommodation suitable for groups.

‘Groups travel is one of the priority segments we target as part of our current Visitor Economy strategy and we are continuing to build relationships with coach travel Operators to increase this market further.’
 
In 2013 the Isle of Man attracted 306 individual coach groups equating to 10,710 passengers from a variety of locations across the British Isles and Ireland including Scotland, Yorkshire and the South West of England.