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| 12,000 Set to Arrive for TT
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Thousands of visitors are expected to travel to the
Island this week as the TT festival gets under way.
The Steam Packet predicts about 12,000 passengers and
4,000 motorcycles will arrive on its vessels over the
fortnight.
A range of activities will be taking place over the
next two weeks despite the racing being cancelled.
A high-profile multi-media marketing campaign is in
operation, aiming to get the message across that the
Island is open for business.
Adverts have been running in newspapers, on TV and
radio and even the London Underground to attract
visitors now and for the rest of the season.
Bushy's brewery boss Martin Brunnschweiler said there
will be plenty to do for visitors over the TT
fortnight.
He said: 'The Bushy's tent will start on Wednesday and
we will be open until Friday, June 8.
'All the usual attractions will be going onand we will
be having extra bands. We hope the locals will come
down to support us as usual.'
Popular attractions such as the Purple Helmets, Red
Arrows and the Ramsey Sprint will all go ahead as
planned.
Track days at Jurby airfield also aim to enable fans
to test out their skills in a relatively safe
environment.
The music festival featuring Van Morrison and the Fun
Lovin' Criminals is also expected to attract some of
the visitors coming across.
But despite the thousands who will still enjoy the
festival atmosphere, the Steam Packet figures are
greatly down on last year, when 38,000 passengers came
across with 14,100 motorbikes.
Figures for people arriving by plane were not
available.
A spokesman for Manx Airlines said: 'Bookings are
obviously down. We are still assessing the impact.'
But despite the low passenger numbers for the TT
period it is hoped the marketing campaign could help
to salvage the rest of the season.
Terry Toohey, department of tourism and leisure chief
executive, said: 'It could well be this year turns
from what could have been a drama into a successful
tourist year against all the odds.'
A three-hour broadcast by BBC Radio Merseyside from
the Hilton Hotel, Douglas, on Saturday will aim to
attract tourists to the Island in the wake of the
foot-and-mouth crisis.
The show will go out from Swing Easy in the afternoon
and will feature an interview with TT commentator
Peter Kneale, live broadcasts and reports from the
House of Manannan in Peel and Castle Rushen.
Alan Jackson, who will be presenting and producing the
show, said it was a last-minute arrangement made with
the Department of Tourism and Leisure in an effort to
market the Island's tourism attractions to people in
the North West.
Alan, who worked as programme manager at Manx Radio
for seven years during the 1970s, said Saturday's
programme would be broadcast between 2pm-5pm on 1485
medium wave.
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