16 May, 2023
Visit Isle of Man has created its first UK based role to drive the Isle of Man’s partnerships with national Travel Trade.
The new role follows the release of the Agency’s 10 year Visitor Economy Strategy, and signals a strategic move to increase Travel Trade relationships to drive visitor growth and support the Agency’s new CEO, Deborah Heather, to deliver the ambitious target to reach 500,000 visitors per year by 2032.
Caroline Hadfield will be taking up the newly created UK based role of Business Development Manager. Caroline’s initial focus will be on the UK and Irish markets, with the potential to develop international GSA (general sales agents) networks in the future.
Her main areas of focus are to:
- Deliver a new travel trade strategy which focuses on building relationships with the travel trade, working with them to develop packaged holidays based around the Island’s core products and to promote the Island as an attractive short break and domestic holiday destination
- Drive visitor growth in the shoulder season by increasing current schedules and promoting initiatives and products to encourage new holiday packages for different markets
- Promote the Isle of Man as a key destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE)
- Increase the Island’s representation and profile within identified associations and industry bodies across the UK, such as ANTOR (Association of National Tourist Offices and Representatives, and UK Inbound.
Caroline has over a decade of experience working in the travel and tourism sector, and is joining from The Modern Hotel Group based in Jersey, bringing a network of key partners including tour operators, wholesalers, travel agents and MICE related businesses.
Deborah Heather, CEO of Visit Isle of Man, says: ‘The appointment of Caroline as our new Business Development Manager in the UK signifies a change in focus and aspiration for Visit Isle of Man as we build upon our network and explore new ways of attracting people to visit the Isle of Man. Caroline will be identifying growth areas and ensuring the Isle of Man is a destination or venue of choice for Travel Trade, MICE organisers and industry bodies.
‘We are delighted to have Caroline on board and look forward to working with her to raise awareness of the Isle of Man, and its offering, as we look to achieve the ambitious targets outlined in the strategy.’
