One of Northumberland's biggest attractions nearly doubled visitor numbers last year as it saw revenue return to pre-pandemic levels.
Alnwick Garden chief executive officer Mark Brassell described a "stellar year" in which the charity benefited from Government VAT reductions, investment in its events programme and the Covid-induced staycation boom. Accounts for the trust show total revenue rose considerably to £5.8m in the year to the end of March 2022, up from £2.9m in 2021 and ahead of pre-Covid levels of £4.9m in its 2017-18 year.
Included in the period was the Garden's strongest ever festive season in which the number of visitors to its extended Christmas Light Trail rocketed from about 7,000 to 37,000 - a move which also saw the introduction of local independent food sellers who benefited to the tune of £65,000. The success has led the Garden to establish a calendar of food pop-ups over the spring and summer season - with bosses on the look out for new businesses to include.
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Speaking to Business Live, Mr Brassell said: "We've nailed everything now and our overall offer is really, really good. That translates into repeat visits and support, and good feedback. I've got to give credit to the whole team for that." The accounts show Ebitda before impact activity - that is the community and education programmes run by the Trust - was £908,440, compared with a loss of more than £192,000 in the previous year.
Some of that profit was invested back into the Garden's forthcoming mammoth play area - Lilidorei - which is touted as the world's largest play structure. Mr Brassell acknowledged the development had been subject to delays and cost increases as many building projects have in recent months, but reaffirmed intentions to open the attraction in spring next year. It is hoped Lilidorei will attract an additional 250,000 visitors each year - many of whom will be different to regular Garden visitors.
Film company MGM studios have been filming the build of the structure for a documentary that is set to air on Channel 4, and possibly other streaming platforms such as Amazon. Mr Brassell said the trust was working with funders to ensure the delivery of the scheme and added: "It'll be a massive boost, not only for the Garden and Alnwick but we've tried to showcase the wider area. We've been to the likes of Holy Island to encourage the people shooting it to cover the North East. If that drags more people up here, that will benefit the whole area and we think there will be a big boost from that next year, and possibly into the year after."
In the accounts, cost-of-living concerns were said to have depressed visitor numbers over this summer, since the end of the financial year, although improvements to the Garden's food and drink offer retained strong revenues. Asked about inflation and the potential impact on visitor attractions, Mr Brassell added: "We are in for a really difficult 12 months, by all accounts.
"What we're trying to do is stay relevant and remain affordable so we dropped our child tariff last year - so children go free to the Alnwick Garden. That felt right and we're certainly going to extend that for another 12 months to make sure we're competitive and a good family day out.
"We're relatively secure in terms of our other expenses because we're under contract with fixed price for energy bills. We're lucky that we don't have to pass a huge cost down to our visitors, which is going to help us and make us more robust in the 12 months to come."
Mr Brassell also noted that a potential upside of the weakened pound was the country's attractiveness to US tourists. He said: "It's suddenly a lot more affordable to Americans particularly - the dollar is so strong at the moment - and with the Jubilee, the passing of the Queen and their fascination with the coronation next year, I'm expecting a real spike in interest. I think that's an opportunity we need to capitalise on. With the filming around Lilidorei and our links to the Duchess, if it catches fire over there, our area could do really well."
In its 21 years since opening, the Garden has seen more than seven million visitors and contributed an estimated £340m for the local economy, of which £175,000 has been spent directly with local suppliers. The Garden also claims to have supported 3,200 jobs in that time. The Garden earned three coveted VisitEngland Gold Awards at the North East Tourism Awards.
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