A leading light in the Eden Project Morecambe says he expects tourism to the area to start rising even BEFORE the new attraction opens its doors.
Tim Narey was speaking at the launch of the new Morecambe Bay tourism guide at the Midland hotel on Thursday.
During a Q&A, Mr Narey, project manager for the planned Eden Project Morecambe, was asked by Morecambe hotelier Mal Neill about whether there will be contractors staying in the area during the two-year building of the £100m attraction on the Promenade.
This, said Mr Neill, would help guesthouses, hotels and B&Bs in the months before Eden eventually opens, which is planned for 2026.
Mr Narey said he expected "tourism numbers to start to rise rapidly even when we are under construction" - as the Eden Project in Cornwall site (pictured below) had around 600,000 visitors during the building phase.
He also said the targets were for around 500 full-time workers to be on site during the construction phase, and 80 per cent of the workers would be local, with some specialists coming from out of town.
During a speech to representatives of local businesses and organisations, Mr Narey said that gaining £50m of government funding towards the project in January had been a "truly momentous occasion".
He also said that the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who visited Morecambe hours after the funding news was announced (pictured below), had since sent a letter, saying "how fantastic he thought Morecambe was, and he could really feel the buzz here".
Mr Narey also praised the recent Baylight event which pulled around 20,000 people to Morecambe Promenade for the town's first ever festival of light.
He said it was "absolutely fantastic to see what you can do on a February weekend in Morecambe".
Related Story: VIDEO and PHOTOS: Thousands enjoy hugely successful first ever Morecambe festival of light - Beyond Radio
Mr Narey (pictured below, right, with Mark Prada, chair of Bay Tourism Association) said that when Eden Project Morecambe opens, there will be a special membership scheme for locals, as well as a 'Locals Pass' and 'Locals Days' for residents of the area, as these schemes had been successful at the Cornwall attraction.
And he also said he expected the Eden Project Morecambe would be "world famous" and pull in a large amount of visitors from overseas.
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