With holiday’s off-island looking uncertain this summer, our Islanders will be seeking alternatives closer to home. Be sure to take advantage of this captive market by preparing and adjusting your business accordingly. Below are some useful tips you may wish to consider:
 

Product

  • Reviewing your product or service offering to ensure it is suitable for and easily accessible for residents - for example if you are able to move your ‘place of business’ for the day then consider setting up in another part of the Island, if you offered airport pickups previously, can you alter this service to offer door to door service?

  • Eateries - you may wish to consider continuing to offer a limited take-away/delivery service for Islanders staying at self-catering and B&B accommodation or for those who enjoyed the service over the last few months.

Price

  • You may want to consider pulling together some special packages or exclusive offers for residents. Or consider adding additional extras to your package to make it more appealing and to help you stand out from your competitors.

Place

  • Have you checked to see if there are any new places where your product could be sold or service could be booked? Think about how you could make it easier for residents to make reservations with your business. There are a number of websites as well as the Visit Isle of Man website which can help with this, such as:
    https://eatout.im/
    http://www.standsixfeetawayanddeliver.co.im/
    https://www.islandescapes.im/

  • Activity and Attraction providers can take advantage of our partnership with local firm MiQuando and trial their Online Booking platform for a 12 month period free of charge. Not only are you open 24/7 to receive instant bookings but your customers can clearly see availability and price upfront. It also helps prevent ‘no shows’ or lost income as you are getting a full commitment from the visitor to come to your attraction, tour or event including upfront payment.

Promotion

  • You should consider the promotional channels you are using to get your message to your customers. Facebook and Instagram remain the primary marketing channels given their ability to reach large audiences where they are searching for information and the ease with which you can target advertising to locals.

  • We have been working with Alison Teare from Simply Marketing to ensure we provide you with ongoing marketing support through a range of webinars for you to join in live, and video 1-1 Marketing Surgery Sessions.  If you want bespoke advice, Alison’s sessions will be the ideal platform and she can help advise on some of the best ways to reach your audience by making a booking directly. 

  • Or listen to how marketing is being used effectively by tourism businesses to open new opportunities and attract new business, through our series of podcasts with Alison here.

  • You may want to also consider taking some time to review your product profile on the Visit Isle of Man website and opting in to be featured on the My Island Staycation landing page which the marketing team will be linking to in their local, paid for advertising.

  • Consider your product profile as your online shop window - we would encourage you to review and refresh your listing to ensure it is up-to-date and suggest logging into your Visit Isle of Man (Extranet) account to make any changes. You may wish to update the following: descriptions, opening times, prices, facilities and photographs, and add a couple of sentences above your normal description outlining any island Staycation offers you may wish to promote.

Partnerships

  • Consider if there are any other tourism businesses on island who you could create a partnership with this summer, for example an eatery could partner with a self-catering accommodation provider to create a ‘stay and dine in/out’ package or accommodation, eatery and activity/attraction provider could group together to create an all-encompassing Island Staycation package.

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