TOURISM board, Visit Isle of Wight, has teamed up with a leading group travel publication to showcase the Island.
 The Visit Isle of Wight sponsored publication, 'The Isle of Wight - A Guide For Groups' is now in the hands of around 3,000 UK coach operators who run a tour programme - the first such guide to the Island for many years.
Another 3,000 handpicked group travel organisers have also been sent the brochure.
The publication looks at the Island's many festivals, beaches, seaside towns and rural retreats, and also showcases some of the places to stay.
Hugh Cairns, group travel specialist and publishing director of the guide, said: "Coach tourism contributes over £2.3 billion to the economy. Interestingly, research shows that once you're a coach traveller you're hooked to stay a coach traveller - 92 per cent of existing coach travellers say they will continue to book coach tours over the next five years. Even people who have never been on a coach tour are keen to do so - from a poll of 5,870 - 43 per cent of all ages said they were likely to consider booking a coach holiday in the next five years. Great news for the Island!"
David Thornton, outgoing chief executive at Visit Isle of Wight, said: "The new Guide for Groups is the start of a marketing programme to raise the profile of the Island as a great groups destination. This was a commitment we made in the Wight BID plan. Work began on planning the activity last summer, and the guide for groups is the first element of this new activity."
Visit Isle of Wight will be attending exhibitions over the coming months to highlight the new brochure and others, including London's Destination show at Olympia and a number of specialist shows, in partnership with Tourism South East.