Island Life Magazine Ltd February / March 2016 | Page 20

INTERVIEW
“I was handed an opportunity 36 months
ago to take the Island in the right direction.
I could see that if we were ever going
to be able to interest big players in the
entertainment industry - such as Merlin, who
do water parks - we had to show that we
could get hold of the 30 years of decay in the
Island’s tourist industry and stop further falls
in visitor numbers – and that’s what we have
started to do”.
He added: “This year will be a challenge
because Easter comes early, which leaves us
with a ‘dead man’s walk’ right through April. It
will feel like a difficult start to the year even if
more people come”.

Bigger issues
There are, of course, wider issues to grapple
with. Business owners routinely complain
about ferry charges, about the down-dragging
effect of poorly-run or inadequately-financed
hotels with owners who are blocked by Council
policy from selling up and getting out.
“There are a lot of issues to be fixed, yes,”
says David, “and we are working on breaking
that deadlock of accommodation providers
who haven’t changed with the market and
haven’t got the means to make their business
marketable again.
“It won’t happen overnight, but there are
some accommodation providers that have
managed to re-invent themselves from basic
to boutique-type B&B”.
On the subject of ferry costs, he says: “To
Islanders, the ferry will always be a distress
purchase, something you just have to buy.
“But when we surveyed 15,000 people
about their barriers to coming to the Isle of
Wight, ferry costs actually came very low

“When it comes
to destination
marketing it’s
pointless to get
into a debate
about whose
product it is”
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