The minister responsible for TT has defended the event’s schedule amidst criticism from businesses and politicians.
Enterprise Minister Tim Johnston outlined the planning process which is undertaken annually.
He said: “The schedule is designed in close partnership with the race organiser ACU and other critical delivery partners, and must take into account the needs of a wide range of stakeholders, including emergency services, marshals, residents and, of course, the riders and teams.
“As we collectively continue to scrutinise the format, our shared focus is on building a flexible schedule that meets the needs of all involved.
“This includes building resilience against the risk of weather related disruption, and in order to inform final decisions for 2026 a comprehensive and multi agency post event debrief process is currently underway as a standard practice annually.”
Mr Johnston also said that critics of the schedule “represent a small minority”, saying that “fewer than 3% of the total survey of respondents, actually were critical of it”.
What’s the point?
Despite this, Chris Thomas called for wider consultation: “I didn’t see visitors listed. I didn’t see local authorities and retailers listed.”
He stressed the event’s cultural significance: “If nobody visits us and Nobody enjoys it, what’s the point?”
Mr Johnston highlighted growth indicators: “Our TT plus coverage has increased by 400% since 2021” and noted “approximately 30% of visitors in recent years have been first time attendees.”
On criticism, he said: “Fewer than 3% of the total survey of respondents actually were critical of it.”
Businesses
Tim Glover also raised business concerns saying: “Businesses are many 10s of 1000s of pounds down on previous meetings.”
He also shared marshals’ feedback: “The new schedule is sucking their enjoyment of the event away.”
Mr Johnston responded: “We will always have those conversations with individual businesses,” while citing the event’s £50 million economic impact.
Regarding marshals, he noted their association “were very supportive of the changes” in 2023, which was before they were introduced.
Julie Edge questioned also visitor statistics, but Mr Johnston said that what figures were available were “really positive”.
Onchan MHK Rob Callister did highlight benefits and said that “fans are located right across the island”.
Mr Johnston agreed, noting visitor patterns have changed from previous decades where the main focus was on Douglas and Ramsey.
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