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Isle of Man Steam Packet Company handles
more than 5,000 bookings for TT 2018
THE Isle of Man Steam Packet Company handled a record breaking number of
bookings when reservations opened for the 2018 TT festival.
The Company started taking provisional reservations, on Monday, 29 May 2017,
8.30am and by the end of the day had completed more than 5,000 bookings, a
substantial increase on the 3,500 handled on the same day in 2016, which was the
previous record high.
Almost 14,000 passengers were booked to travel, up more than 4,000 on 2016. The
number of motorcycles booked reached 6,511, a significant increase on the 2016
figure of 4,755.
Online bookings were up by more than 1,000 on last year, with 3,235 made
online,
and 1,893 reservations were made by phone or in person, also an increase on
2016.
The Steam Packet Company Reservations Office and phone lines were fully staffed
throughout the day, with extra staff brought in to help deal with the
anticipated demand and teams in Liverpool and Heysham also helping out.
Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Chief Executive Mark Woodward said: - "I
would like to pay tri, bute to all our staff who worked hard throughout the day
to assist as many TT fans as possible to secure their travel for the 2018 TT. We
experienced a significant increase in provisional bookings compared with the
same time last year, which underlines the continued growth in popularity of the
TT. By bringing in additional staff where possible and investing significantly
to make our online booking system more robust we have made further steps forward
in meeting the substantial demand. Next year we will open provisional bookings
for the 2019 TT one week earlier, on Monday, 21st May 2018. Traditionally
provisional bookings for the following year's TT have opened during TT Practice
Week, but this is a time when our staff are already very busy and bringing
the date forward will allow us to deploy additional staff to assist customers
with their bookings."
The Steam Packet Company has been able to meet the increased travel demand, for
motorcycles in particular, thanks to substantial investment in a removable
mezzanine deck for fast craft Manannan and continued charter of MV Arrow to
provide freight support. Final figures for passengers carried during this year's
TT are expected to be released next week.
Mr Woodward concluded:- "Despite the volume of reservations we have
already handled, there are still places on sailings to the Isle of Man during
the 2018 TT, so it is worth checking on line or with our reservations team."
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