Visit Isle of Man is the official Government agency responsible for the visitor economy on the Isle of Man. In 2022 a 10-year strategy for growth was approved by the Island’s Government and Visit Isle of Man are now building the team required to deliver this programme by 2032.
In order to deliver their ambitious targets, Visit Isle of Man will be developing closer links with the travel trade in the UK and further afield and for this they are looking for someone to join their team and lead this exciting new chapter.
You will be responsible for developing and delivering a new groups and travel trade strategy to increase visitor numbers and generate additional income for the Island’s visitor economy year on year. You will produce and implement a sales plan to target the travel trade industry to attract group, domestic and inbound visitors with a particular focus on the off-peak shoulder seasons.
This new B2B role will focus on developing and growing travel trade revenue through productive travel trade relationships and partnerships, and by advising stakeholders in creating products that will be attractive to the travel trade and groups business. It will be focused on the Island’s key markets, chiefly the UK and Ireland but also international destinations through the management of a GSA network.
Key responsibilities will be attracting, securing and retaining clients within the travel trade sector – aiming to increase exposure within the retail and wholesale segments including operators (domestic, inbound and international) distribution channels and OTAs. The role will also champion technical advancement to ensure that the Island’s industry is in a strong position to work with the travel trade. The role will be home-based on the UK mainland (but with frequent visits to the Island) and in order to be able to represent the Island at events, the role holder must be sufficiently mobile and flexible to travel around the UK and internationally, requiring overnight stays away from home when necessary
Key responsibilities:
- Identify new clients and develop relationships with travel trade partners.
- Maintain relationships with existing customers.
- Act as the Island’s representative with trade organisations such as UKinbound.
- Pitch products, enabling third parties to sell the Isle of Man.
- Maximise partnership opportunities to extend reach and effectiveness of Visit Isle of Man’s marketing activities.
Key skills & experience:
- An experienced sales professional with at least three years experience in the travel industry.
- Proven record of meeting and exceeding sales targets, and monitoring budgets.
- Have a high profile within the sector – as an advocate for destinations and new products.
- Have proven people management experience including forming relationships with stakeholders and clients.
- An excellent communicator who is able to hit the ground running and be flexible as new relationships develop.
- Have strong upselling and negotiating skills.
- Be commercially astute with ability to identify potential partners and revenue.
- Be able to produce financial reports and presentations.
- Have an ability to think in an innovative and entrepreneurial way.
- Strong commercial acumen and a flair for closing deals and increasing revenues.
- Have a wide and detailed experience of place-making and destination development with a passion for domestic tourism.
- Highly organised with the ability to manage a varied workload and prioritise accordingly; the role requires a team player who can build strong working relationships with internal departments and external businesses.
How to apply: please click here to apply.
About Visit Isle of Man: Visit Isle of Man was created to support the Island’s tourism sector, developing and implementing a strategy to support sustainable economic growth and establishing the Isle of Man as a quality visitor destination. It provides guidance, training and support to trade partners.
