The Isle of Man Government has launched a package of one-off support towards accommodation costs for those travelling to the Island who will be required to self-isolate upon return.
Individuals travelling back to the Island from Thursday 19 November are able to book accommodation from today onwards, through two dedicated Isle of Man based travel agents.
The announcement, which was made by the Chief Minister on Thursday 12 November, follows the change in policy from the Council of Ministers to extend self-isolation for fourteen days to all members of a household on the return to the Island of a household member, from Thursday 19 November.
The Isle of Man Government will make a contribution of up to two-hundred and fifty pounds per week, per person towards the cost of officially registered permanent Tourist accommodation.
Laurence Skelly MHK, Minister for Enterprise, commented:
‘Given the current prevalence of the virus in the UK and the increase in travel related cases in the Island, we feel this move is the most appropriate course of action to keep our community as safe as possible.
‘We are very aware that the change in the self-isolation household rule will be difficult for some households and families; it may result in children having to be off school and people having to be absent from work. We therefore want to make this as easy as possible for everyone involved and provide individuals the option to stay somewhere else during their two week period of self-isolation, avoiding the need for others in their households to isolate.’
To help facilitate this support, the Isle of Man Government has established a framework of tourist accommodation providers from the private sector, who can apply to be on a ‘Select Accommodation Isolation List’ to deliver accommodation for self-isolating individuals.
Only permanent accommodation providers registered with the Department for Enterprise under the Tourist Act 1975 can apply to be on the Select List. Providers must also have the availability to take bookings for fourteen day block periods at a time up until the 31 December 2020 and must adhere to the ‘Guidance for Accommodation Hosting Guests Required to Self-Isolate’ guidance.
Accommodation providers looking to register for the ‘Select Accommodation Isolation List’, must contact the Visit Isle of Man team at accommodation.dfe@gov.im by Monday 16th November, to guarantee a place on the list.
Individuals travelling back to the Island that would like to book accommodation can do so from today, and should contact the Online Regional Travel Group on 01624 654654 or email travel@visitiom.co.uk and Isle of Man Travel Event Services on 01624 664460 or email Info@iomevents.com, both of whom are acting as the agents on behalf of the Isle of Man Government to manage the booking and invoicing process.
