Over 260 cars booked for inaugural Festival of Motoring

Visit Isle of Man, an Executive Agency within the Department for Enterprise, has worked with local accommodation providers and Scenic Car Tours, the UK’s leading tour operator for driving enthusiasts, to create a new holiday package to celebrate the Island’s motorsport heritage.

Due to take place over 17-20th September 2021, the new event will see car enthusiasts from around the UK visit the Island for an array of festival events and unique driving experiences, including an optional Gala Dinner on the Saturday evening.

Rob Callister, Political Member with responsibility for tourism and motorsport, commented:

‘Operating in a highly competitive market, the Agency has been working hard to establish new partnerships with UK travel providers in order to attract more visitors to the Isle of Man. Scenic Car Tours have been a fantastic partner to work with, bringing years of experience and a vast network of potential new visitors to market to.’

‘This exciting new car event will make the most of our Island’s enviable motorsport heritage as well as extend the visitor season into the autumn months. I encourage all islanders to get out and about over the weekend to view and admire more than 260 visiting cars and to give the visitors a warm of Manx welcome.’

Angela Byrne, Head of Visit Isle of Man, added:

‘Events are a key pillar of the Agency’s Strategic Plan, and particularly post-COVID they will play an important part in increasing visitor growth. With the cancellation of significant summer events this year and last the Agency now has even more impetus to develop our events calendar to not only reach new markets, but to extend our tourism season beyond the peak months.’

Bob Cole, Sales and Product Director, Scenic Car Tours, commented:

‘We’re extremely excited to finally get this show on the road, having had to cancel the inaugural event last year due to the ongoing pandemic. We have already taken bookings for over 260 cars and with a few weeks left to go, we are now expecting bookings for the event to exceed 300 cars; including a 1951 Jaguar XK120, 1957 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, 1953 Austin Healey and 62 Morgan’s who are the Marque of Honour for this year’s event.’

‘Ourselves, the drivers and their fellow passengers are all really looking forward to this exciting, new event and we are confident that it will quickly become a firm fixture on the Isle of Man’s calendar of events for many years to come.’

The event runs from 17-20th September 2020. Isle of Man residents can also take part in the festival via one of the ‘Event Only’ packages. Package and ticket information is available at www.sceniccartours.com/iom-festival-of-motoring