Visit Isle Of Wight Fights Corner For Local Businesses

The results of the Isle of Wight visitor statistics for the first 6 months of 2025 have been released by Visit Isle of Wight.

The Island’s destination marketing company and VisitEngland accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnership organisation has combined the first two quarters (01 Jan – 31 June) of 2025 to present a more representative and statistically robust perspective for the period, as Easter fell in Quarter 2 in 2025, compared to Quarter 1 in 2024.

On the Isle of Wight, short break staying visitors for the period January to June 2025 showed a small increase of 1.4% compared the same time in 2024.

The total number of day visitors increased by 6.2 % year on year, with day visitors from home up by 12.2%, higher than the national average of 10% as shown in a recent report from VisitEngland.

Visitors staying 1-3 nights showed an increase 9.1%, whilst longer breaks of 4+ nights showed a slight decrease of 4.6%

However, the overall figures for the period 01 January till 30 June 2025 show a decrease of total visitors (including Staying and Day Visits) to the Island of -5.3% year on year for the same period in 2024.

 National industry body VisitEngland recently reported that until the end of April 2025 overnight trips were down 21% year-on-year, while tourism day visits were up 10%.

The total visitor spend (which excludes cross-Solent travel) dropped by 1.5% to £101.2 million, however the average spend per visitor increased by 17% for overnight visitors and by nearly 40% for day visitors.

Will Myles, Managing Director at Visit Isle of Wight said:

“The results of the combined Q1 and Q2 statistics for visitors to the Isle of Wight, whilst showing a year-on-year decline are less impactful than national statistics suggest.

“I have spoken to many businesses in the sector and while some are feeling the hit more than others, I hope that the Island’s tourism industry will see that the picture here is not as bad as the national picture.

“Of course, a decrease in figures is never a good thing, but to fight the tide of the national decline in domestic tourism to deliver a less damaging impact is testament to the collaborative work between the Island’s hard-working businesses and Visit Isle of Wight.”

Will Myles also highlighted that the fight for the tourism industry continues, pointing to the most recent Domestic Sentiment Tracker research from VisitEngland, considered one of the most accurate barometers of how people feel about taking a domestic holiday in the UK.

He said:

“The most recent research, issued by VisitEngland on 22 July, shows that 45% of UK adults state that they think ‘the worst is still to come’ regarding the cost-of-living crisis, citing the top three barriers to taking a domestic overnight trip as the rising cost of living, UK weather and rising costs of holidays/leisure.

“We continue to have our sleeves rolled up, ready to battle our corner with and on behalf of the Island’s tourism industry. I am proud of the team at Visit Isle of Wight who, while small in number, always fight for the Island with great passion, and we continue to explore varied marketing opportunities to show off the many fantastic reasons to visit the Isle of Wight.”