Consultation 3 Visit Isle of Man

Senior Planning Officer Planning and Building Control Department of Infrastructure Murray House Mount Havelock Douglas Isle of Man IM1 2SF

Visit Isle of Man Agency Direct Dial No: (01624) 695700 Reception (01624) 686400 www.visitisleofman.com Email: [email protected]

18 November 2025

Dear Sirs,

Please find below an Officer comment in respect of planning application: 25/90884/B Additional use for tourist accommodation (Class 3.6) Dhowin Cottage, Smeale Road, Andreas, Isle of Man IM7 4JA

This comment has been provided by Officers from within the Visit Isle of Man Agency and as such, should be considered as Officer comment only and, therefore, not the view or official position of the Visit Agency Board, or political members of the Department for Enterprise.

The Our Island Our Future Visitor Economy Strategy 2022-2032, endorsed by Tynwald in May 2022, includes a Visitor Accommodation Transformation Action Programme that seeks to develop 500 new and transformed hotel and serviced accommodation bedrooms and 500 new units of distinctive, contemporary, eco-friendly non-serviced accommodation to support visitor number growth over the next 10 years.

Programme 3 (Visitor Accommodation Transformation) of the strategy highlights that our visitor accommodation studies have shown that we are lagging behind our competitor island, coastal and rural destinations in terms of the quality and choice of visitor accommodation that we offer. Investment needs to be secured in distinctive, contemporary and eco-friendly visitor accommodation that will attract new visitor markets to the Island, help to boost off-peak demand, and enable the Island to get ahead of the competition.

The development would see the creation of a self-catering tourist accommodation unit. Although this development does not create a large number of new tourist accommodation, the proposal set out by the applicant contributes to the objectives of the Our Island Our Future Visitor Economy Strategy.

The Our Island Our Future Visitor Economy Strategy states that our priority to 2032 will be to triple our holiday and short break demand with over 70% of our additional visitors staying for such purposes. The strategy has four target markets to grow and attract including 'Traditional Traveller', 'Curious Explorers', 'Experience Seekers' and 'Family Adventurers'. Development of new accommodation will add to the growth of these markets.

It is anticipated that the development would achieve a high-quality finish satisfying a number of elements as growth potential within strategic documentation which will be in sympathy with the Departments policy to encourage a quality visitor experience to ensure the Island remains a competitive as a destination.

For the reasons set out above, Visit Agency Officers would have no objection to this development. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any further queries in reference to the above comment.

Yours faithfully,

Angela Byrne, Director of Destination Development, Visit Isle of Man