Isle of Wight tourism bosses say VisitEngland national data, which shows visits to attractions in 2022 remained a third lower than in 2019, is 'skewed.'

A Visit Isle of Wight spokesperson said: "The national report does not show the full picture of visits to attractions on the Island.

"It is predominantly smaller Isle of Wight attractions that are included and feed into the research.

"Some have been closed during the research period, such as Newtown Old Town Hall. Clearly this would “skew” the Island data set.

Isle of Wight County Press: Newtown Old Town Hall.Newtown Old Town Hall. (Image: IWCP.)

VisitEngland's Annual Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions for 2022 found while visits overall showed recovery, to attractions across England, numbers were still significantly down on pre-Covid levels.

Visits to attractions in England increased by 42 per cent, compared to 2021, but were still down more than a third - 35 per cent - on 2019 figures.

The survey gathered information from 1,519 English attractions, including some on the Island.

Visit Isle of Wight insists there is more to the story than one of a slow recovery

The spokesperson told the County Press: "Our conversations with other attractions not featured in the research suggest we appear to be bucking the national trend.

"Visitors are enjoying their time on the Isle of Wight."

Meanwhile, VisitEngland said overseas visits to England’s attractions were up 280 per cent in 2022, compared to 2021.

Domestic visits to attractions increase by 24 per cent, compared to 2021.