There was a 4% increase in the estimated number of TT visitors last year - and visitors to the Festival of Motorcycling were up too.

Latest visitor survey results suggest that 46,174 racegoers came for TT 2019.

That’s an increase of 4% on the estimated number in 2018, and the highest figure recorded since the survey began in 2010.

A total of 6,325 passenger groups were interviewed for the survey, of which 4,345 were visitors for the TT. The response rate was 99%.

Face-to-face interviews were conducted in the departure lounge and the vehicle loading areas at the Sea Terminal and in the departure lounge at Ronaldsway airport.

On average, visitors stayed 6.8 nights in the island and spent £801 on the trip.

Total expenditure of TT visitors in 2019 is an estimated £37.5m, representing a contribution to Manx national income of £27.1m and a tax take for the Manx exchequer of £4.8m.

The Department for Enterprise said there was a 95% ’confidence interval’ in the survey findings - that is, had all departing passengers been interviewed, the true number of TT visitors would have been found to be between 45,392 and 46,956.

This year’s TT was blighted by erratic weather which caused havoc to the schedule, making it the most disrupted festival in the event’s history and resulting in an unprecedented five races being held on one day.

A total of 6,008 interviews were conducted for this year’s Festival of Motorcycling, of which 1,876 were visitors for the event.

An estimated 16,019 visitors came to the island for the Festival in 2019, an increase of 5.1% compared to the 2018 estimate and an increase of 80% on the estimated figure for 2009, the year that this event was first surveyed.

The average visitor stayed 7.4 nights in the island and spent £717 on the trip.

Total expenditure of these visitors in 2019 is estimated at £11.4m, representing a contribution to Manx national income of £8.3m and an exchequer benefit of £1.5m.

Some 69.8% had visited the island previously for the Festival of Motorcycling, and 62.9% tend to visit for other motorsport events, such as the TT races and Southern 100.

Most (69.0%) were from England, with 13% from the rest of the British Isles and Republic of Ireland and 18% from further afield.

It was a similar picture for the TT with 57.8% of visitors from England, 16.2% from other parts of Britain and Ireland, 16.5% from Europe and 7.8% from the rest of the world. The remaining 1.7% didn’t provide a country of residence.