An organiser of one of the island’s biggest TT campsites has said that bookings are roughly 35% down on last year.

Stuart Foley helps run one of the sites at Ballafletcher sports facility in Braddan.

‘We are a bit down this year to be honest,’ he said.

‘I think we’re at about 65% of what we had last year and even last year was fairly quiet.

‘I’m not sure if there is a reason for that. However, it is still early days and hopefully it will pick up a bit over the course of the next few days.

‘We’ve got plenty of space for “walk ins” for anyone who wants to turn up.’

Speaking about the importance of the income generated by the site to football clubs Douglas Royal and Corinthians who run it, Mr Foley added: ‘It has become very important to us in recent years. I think it’s the same for a lot of clubs across the island as it is a big earner.

‘We’ve been doing it for six or seven years now, aside from the two-year break for Covid.

‘It’s a very important fundraiser for us.’

St John’s Football Club has said its numbers were comparable with what it had last year, while the popular Glen Lough campsite in Glen Vine is also reporting similar figures to 2022, although it says the duration of people’s stays seem to be shorter.