visitislesofscilly.com ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 661,890 visits in 2015/16 (18% up on previous year) 81% of whom are looking for ideas of things to do and places to stay – make sure they find you 7,669 direct accommodation enquiries to members (49% up on previous year) Rated as the most useful source of information by visitors panning their trip to Scilly No. 1 in Google for all relevant searches

Email Marketing 69% increase in the size of our customer database Monthly newsletters achieve 30%+ open rates (well above the industry average) Click-throughs to advertisers can also be several hundred per newsletter

Print Record demand for 2016 Guide Received British Destinations Best Brochure Award 30,000 print-run for our brochure – targeted nationwide distribution 10,702 digital guide views Specially commissioned maps for use in our pocket map guide

Research Our 2015 Visitor Survey (our biggest ever) revealed some interesting insight into the behaviour of our visitors and provides useful trends for us to learn from 30% of visitors to Scilly are new to the islands 50% of these first time visitors come on a short break 40% of visitors come from the Southwest region 41% are booking their visit online

Social Media 40% growth in following across social media platforms in the past year Up to 17,000 reach per post Over 13,000 “likes” on Facebook Over 4,000 followers on @VisitIOS Twitter

Public Relations 144 pieces of media coverage achieved Scilly featured in The Guardian, Daily Mail, Food & Travel Magazine… Scilly voted best UK family destination at the 2015 Family Traveller Awards

Content New photography and video content commissioned Record entries to our annual photography competition

Overseas & Travel Trade Scilly prominently featured throughout £5m campaign to increase overseas visitors to the SW region Attended major overseas exhibitions in London, Sweden, The Netherlands and Germany Over 30% increase in visits to website from target international markets

Cruise Ships 51 Crusie Ships came to the islands in 2016 15 different Cruise Operators came to the islands in 2016 Over 10,500 passengers came ashore to St. Mary’s. Over the last year we have continued to coordinate the cruise ship welcome ambassador programme providing a friendly, local meet & greet service for cruise ship passengers

Tourist Information In our first year we saw more than 45,000 people pass through the doors of the TIC We also dealt with a further 4,000+ enquiries via phone and email We’re proud to be delivering this vital and valued service and will continue to make improvements throughout this year to ensure the very best possible service for our visitors and for our businesses

Walk Scilly This year’s Walk Scilly was the biggest ever 29 walks took place and almost 500 tickets sold Boosting the economy in the early part of the season.

Isles of Scilly Festival Inaugural Isles of Scilly Festival incorporating Art Scilly Week Over 80 individual events An eclectic mix of talks, workshops and performances that showcased our local island culture

OTILLO Scilly became the UK’s first and only location to play host to the OTILLO World Swimrun Series Over 200 competitors took part from 18 different countries This event caused a considerable social media boom with a reach of 121,000 on Facebook and extensive world media coverage as far afield as Japan

The Islands’ Regatta The inaugural Islands' Regatta over the August bank holiday has been hailed a huge success A fantastic weekend of maritime themed celebrations, with classic boats, pirate cruises and live music topped off by an aerobatic display from the Red Arrows Following the event feedback, from local businesses, echoed that it had been a financial success.

Taste of Scilly September saw yet another new festival for Scilly Taste of Scilly was a month long celebration of the islands’ fantastic food & drink offering Almost 50 individual events took place including pop-up barbecues, produce market and the unique Low Tide Experience

Walk Scilly Weekend The October Walk Scilly Weekend is an effective shoulder season draw 16 different walks across the 5 days across 7 islands This year due to demand it takes place over 5 days rather than 2

2015 in Numbers 7.7% increase in staying visitors 121,633 visitors in 2015 21,081 day trips in 2015 12,632 cruise ship visitors