A 40-strong group of American tourists have pulled out of a trip to the Isle of Man because of fears over coronavirus, an island tour operator has revealed.

Ged Power said the booking would have been lucrative for the island bringing in thousands of pounds for the local economy.

Port Erin based Mr Power first disclosed the news on social media with this message: ‘40 strong tourism booking from USA got cancelled for July. IOM tour/history/food/drink etc. Fears of Coronavirus cited as reason. Economic shockwaves all round.’

Speaking to Business News Mr Power said he has strong links with an American travel agent, who has sent parties over in the past and the plan had been for the group from ‘Middle America’ to fly to Dublin and then come across to the Isle of Man for couple of days before moving on to the UK and Scotland.

He said: ‘It is sad that the group will not be able to see the Isle of Man.

‘They have said they will try to come next year when the world health issue is resolved.’

He said the final booking was due to have been made very soon and were ‘set to push the button’ but had pulled out because of serious fears concerning the virus.

He added that generally in his view it was important the island is proactive and send outs a ‘strong message that we are ready and able to tackle any health issues that are presented.’

Mr Power runs a private hire business called Powerwheels and acts as a ‘ground handler’ for groups of tourists taking them to interesting spots around the island including museums and heritage sites.

This particular group was understood to comprise mainly people aged over 50 and they had been concerned about travelling – they did not single out the Isle of Man as a particular concern just the whole idea of leaving the United States.