Annual Outdoor Visitor Survey

DEFA - The Department of Exercise & Fresh Air seeks your feedback on visits to the Island’s Hills, Forests and Glens through its Annual Outdoor Visitor Survey.

Our Hills, Forests and Glens offers some of the Island’s most stunning scenery and special places which receive an estimated 850,000 visits per annum.

The Department is working to protect the Manx Countryside and its diverse range of landscapes whilst sensitively improving amenity and recreation for the benefit of the local community and tourists alike.

An opportunity exists to complete a questionnaire through Survey Monkey.  Hard copies of the survey will also be available at a variety of venues across the Island and face to face interviews will also be conducted by Forestry staff on site.

Recreational use of our uplands

The DEFA upland estate extends to over 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres), is publicly owned and freely accessible.  It is therefore a valuable, yet sometimes overlooked asset for locals and tourists and potentially under explored.

Our upland habitats are the Island’s largest carbon store, facilitating low input low output food production.

They are without question, a vital resource providing; all of our freshwater, flood regulation and numerous habitats supporting iconic species of wildlife. Whilst our uplands bring many benefits, public access and land use can lead to conflicts between various stakeholders.

This year’s survey looks to identify the numbers of people using our uplands and the reason for use.

This survey is now closed.

Thank you participating in this year’s survey, results will be uploaded to this webpage in October.

For further information please contact the Forestry, Amenity & Lands Directorate tel: +44 1624 695701 
email: forestry@gov.im 
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