00:00 Well there's quite a lot going on tonight. We've got on the island arrived today
00:05 actually a group about 50 or 60 from the British Guild of Travel Writers that
00:09 have their AGM on the island which is fantastic. So they're here for most of
00:13 the week. It's a great opportunity for them to see the island, see what we
00:17 have to offer which is really exciting. We have our island plan, we have our
00:23 visitor economy and our visitor plan to, our strategy to grow our sort of numbers
00:30 to half a million visitors by 2032. So these guys can go away with a really
00:35 positive view of the island and what we have to offer including our fantastic
00:39 food. That's a great thing because then lots of people want to come to the
00:41 island, they're very outstoresy, they love food so I think that's a really
00:45 positive thing. So they're here and we've got today, we're launching our Manx menu
00:49 which is a competition. I think there's over 100 businesses taking part in that.
00:54 A competition for businesses and hospitality to use our Manx produce and produce
01:00 exciting dishes. People can vote on those. So again great opportunity for
01:04 people on the island to sort of hear about and taste all the fantastic things
01:08 we produce, our farmers, our fishermen, our growers and to really sort of showcase our hospitality sector.
01:16 For locals but also as I say for visitors as well.
01:19 Stuart Render, former joint chair of the British Guild of Travel Writers.
01:24 And tell me what you guys are doing on the Isle of Man.
01:26 Well we're delighted to be on the Isle of Man. We're delighted to have been invited by Visit Isle of Man.
01:32 We brought some 50 or so photographers, travel writers, broadcasters and
01:37 bloggers to find out more about the many stories that the island has to offer.
01:42 I've been coming to the island here for many years. I know how wonderful it is
01:47 but I think it's one of the hidden gems of tourism and what I hope that our
01:51 members are going to do when they write and they blog and they broadcast and
01:55 they photograph the island over these few days we're here is to encourage
01:58 more and more people to come over and discover why the Isle of Man is a great
02:02 place for a holiday.
02:03 I think the exposure is really important and you know I say that as someone who came here on holiday,
02:08 fell in love with the island and my sister moved here first, I've moved here,
02:12 my parents still you know making their way slowly but surely but I think
02:17 you're getting that exposure and finding out about somewhere is probably the
02:19 first step. So this is a really exciting time as Tim said we've got
02:24 the Manx Menu event which is a real really exciting concept to showcase Isle of Man
02:28 food and just the versatility of it and then the other piece that we've got
02:33 going on is the Island Kitchen Cookbook, this third edition and being launched
02:36 with another raft of exciting recipes that probably will never look as good
02:40 when I cook them as they do on the pages but you know the taste is where it's at
02:44 and actually you really get to see just the benefit of having that low food
02:48 miles, fresh produce you know really made with love and I think you just can't beat it.
02:53 They have travelled a lot, they've been places, they've seen everywhere and yet the
02:57 Isle of Man is something a little bit special. They're not quite sure what it
03:00 is, it's not the UK, it's a Crown Dependency or whatever the description is
03:05 and I think that makes it somewhere a little bit different, it's like going to
03:08 the Channel Islands but in the Isle of Man you've got the trains, you've got the
03:12 trams, you've got the TT, you've got the scenery, you've got the stories, you've
03:16 got the distilleries, you've got so many different elements that will come
03:20 together. Travel writers are very very good at crafting stories out of what
03:24 they find and I think what we're going to see coming out of this visit is a
03:28 tremendous number of stories that as I say hopefully will encourage more and
03:31 more people to consider the Isle of Man as a place for their holiday.
03:34 I think you know January and February are often difficult months in the
03:38 hospitality trade so yes in January they're like maybe a little bit of a
03:41 rest after the Christmas kind of madness if you like and a new year and but
03:45 certainly you know it's a tough time so when there's events going on and
03:48 activity throughout February and March it's really important because you know
03:52 it keeps people employed which is important for us and but also an
03:57 event like this allows them to be more creative really and put on dishes that
04:01 maybe they hadn't thought of before but very much focused on local products.
04:05 It's all about the Isle of Man, it's all about the Manx menu and so absolutely
04:09 I think we've had great support so far, one of the greatest ever I would say and this is only
04:14 year one so hopefully we'll see this coming forward in future years as well.
04:17 I thought I was about to ask is this something you can see carrying on, is
04:20 this something you want to see in the future all the time now?
04:22 Absolutely I can see it carrying on. I think from this, what I've seen from the
04:27 actual entries is that we've literally got a brand new cocktail menu been kind
04:33 of created for this with some wonderful names you know so I'm not gonna give any
04:36 away but people really need to get out there and support these
04:40 businesses, sample those cocktails, look at all those lovely dishes that have
04:43 been put on for them now, created from Manx products and so it's definitely a
04:46 time to kind of you know put your hand in your pocket and get out there and
04:50 spend some money in hospitality.
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