Attendance at this year’s Isle of Man TT festival fell by 1.5% to 44,367, according to a comprehensive visitor survey just released by the Manx government. TT fans stayed for an average of 6.7 nights on the Island. Peak attendance of 26,600 was reached on Mad Sunday. The number of motorcycles arriving on Manx shores across the TT period was 5.4% lower at 14,531.
Fans spent an average of £886 per head on their trip, the report claimed, which added up to a total of £39.3m using conventional arithmetic. However, it then went on to say that overall expenditure by visitors was an estimated £37.1m, so maybe the author’s calculator needed new batteries. Of this tally, £26.8m was a contribution to “Manx national income”, which presumably meant it was revenue trousered by local businesses. Another £4.8m was an “Exchequer benefit” — taxation creamed off into government coffers.
Some 63.5% of 2018’s head-count had visited the TT previously and the vast majority appeared to be getting steadily older. Only 12.1% were in the 18-29 age range. 42.6% were aged 30 to 49 and 32.5% were aged 50 to 64. A further 10% were 65-plus. While more than three quarters of them came from the UK, 12.6% were from other European countries. A top-five group of EU nations dominated. Germany’s contingent was the largest, accounting for 3.6%, followed by 2.6% from France. Dutch bikers represented 1.6%, the Spanish 1% and Italians 0.8%. Whether our EU brethren will be so abundant in 2019, when they’ll have to pass through UK immigration checks before reaching the Isle of Man and will probably be obliged to obtain visas, is an open question. An additional 8.4% hailed from elsewhere in the world, led by 3% from Australia and 2.9% from the USA.