Southern 100 visitors spend £1.4m

Motorsport fans who visited the Island for the Southern 100 International Road Races earlier this year spent an estimated £1.4m during their trip.

A survey conducted on behalf of the Department of Economic Development found the races attracted almost twice as many visitors as it did in 2010, when such research was last carried out.

The 3,200 visitors spent an average of five nights on the Island, with 75% of them staying in hotels or guest houses, while the rest used camping facilities.

The Billown event attracted fans from Argentina, Australia and the United States, as well as the UK and Ireland.

Over 70% of those who took part in the study said they had visited for the Southern 100 before.