Visit Isle of Man, the body that’s roughly equivalent to the old Tourist Board, has a new chief executive officer.

Deborah Heather joins the agency with more than 30 years’ experience working with all sub-sectors of the hospitality and tourism sector.

Most recently she was chief executive of a company specialising in hospitality and tourism business support and previous roles include working with national and regional tourism boards, including Visit England, The Grading Council of South Africa, and The States of Guernsey.

The role has been created to implement Visit Isle of Man’s recently released 10-year Visitor Economy Strategy, ‘Our Island, Our Future’.

This will lead a new team structure to ‘ensure the effective delivery of the agency’s objectives’, the agency says.

The government has said that Mrs Heather’s expertise will help to ‘drive the agency forwards’, supporting ‘sustainable economic growth and establishing the Isle of Man as a quality visitor destination’.

Mrs Heather said: ‘I became a volunteer member of the Visit Isle of Man Agency Board in early 2022 having been impressed by its vision and drive. I am thrilled to be taking on the new role, leading on the delivery of the ambitious and exciting strategy.

‘After a positive 2022, which saw visitor numbers recovering towards pre-pandemic levels, the future for the island’s tourism sector looks incredibly bright and I am excited to use my experience to help further grow its visitor industry.

‘The Isle of Man has so much to offer with many stories to tell, and I am looking forward to finding out more about our local partners and working with them to reach a wider community, so more visitors can explore the unique history and vibrant culture that the island has to offer.’

Ranald Caldwell, non-executive chair of Visit Isle of Man, added: ‘We have no doubt that Deborah’s contacts and broader commitments supporting the tourism industry across the UK and Ireland will be critical to the successful delivery of the strategy.

‘We are lucky to have Deborah lead us on the next stage of our exciting journey.’

Following an extensive selection process, which attracted interest from the Isle of Man, UK and Europe, Mrs Heather’s appointment will see her relocating to the island with her family.

Visit Isle of Man, an executive agency within the Department for Enterprise, plans to host a series of ‘meet and greet’ sessions for local industry to engage with her personally and more details on these sessions to follow in due course.