'The Island needs to be able to compete' against other destinations 

FOI revealed the Island spent more than £170,000 on influencers 

The chief executive of Visit Isle of Man says the Island needs to work with influencers to be able to compete with other travel destinations.

Deborah Heather has been speaking to Manx Radio after a Freedom of Information request revealed the Department for Enterprise spent more than £170,000 in five years inviting social media personalities to the Island. 

"It's just a modern way of marketing. It's just a different way about thinking about when we used to spend a lot of money on advertising. It's the similar sort of principle. It's people that have a certain amount of followers or a type of followers that we know that would be interested in the Isle of Man. So we deliberately target those people."  

You can find out more HERE.

Speaking on Manx Radio Breakfast, Ms Heather says that, although it is paid for, the content generated represents an 'authentic experience'.

In response to backlash on social media, she says: “We just have to do our job.”

You can listen to the full interview with Deborah Heather in the latest Manx Newscast episode: