unlike the original Eden in Cornwall, it benefits from being nearer large areas of population.
The aim is to attract more than 580,000 visitors a year to Morecambe and to add around £40m to the region’s GVA.
John sees Eden Morecambe as a “catalyst” and envisages it drawing in people visiting Blackpool and the Lake District, creating a coherent holiday experience he describes as “a North West journey”.
Added to that will be the visitors from the big cities of the north such as Manchester and Liverpool, who wouldn’t normally visit the town.
The economic benefits are clear. He says: “This influx of visitors will need hotels and shops and will pull investment into the town, getting people into skilled, sustainable long-term jobs to support it all.”
The ‘Eden’ name is already appearing in the titles of local businesses as they gear up for its arrival.
The original Eden Project in Cornwall has become well-known for its series of outdoor concerts held annually each summer featuring various world-class artists.
John reveals there are plans for a similar series of events in Morecambe once its Eden is up and running. It is, he says, about growing the interest in the visitor economy organically.
He adds: “We want people to come to Morecambe, enjoy the Eden experience and get inquisitive about the area. Even if that is a walk along the prom and lunch in the pub, that’s good.”
Winter Gardens Conference Centre DOING THE BUSINESS
Blackpool’s £30m Winter Gardens upgrade is on track to pay for itself in economic benefits from corporate events six years after its completion.
Meet Blackpool, the town’s conference bureau, has revealed that corporate events have already generated £3.23m in economic benefit for the local area in 2025.
That exceeds its annual target of £2.2m for the financial year ending March 2026, seven months ahead of schedule.
Just five months into the financial year, Blackpool had already achieved a 12 per cent year-on-year increase on the £2.89m in revenue generated from events in 2024-25.
Tourism chiefs say the figures highlight Blackpool’s growing reputation as a versatile and distinctive destination for business tourism.
A cornerstone of Blackpool’s growing success is the purpose-built conference and exhibition centre, which opened in 2022 as a seamless extension to the historic Winter Gardens.
Julie Vincent, head of Meet Blackpool, says: “Blackpool is showing how business tourism can be a powerful force for regeneration in coastal towns – attracting year-round footfall, boosting local spend, and helping reposition destinations that have long been seen purely as leisure resorts – as reputable business hubs.”
David Jarratt, senior lecturer in tourism management at the University of Lancashire’s Business School, believes things are looking up for the county’s coast, driven in part by regeneration projects like Winter Gardens.
And he believes Morecambe’s Eden Project can have a massive impact on its fortunes – especially as it will be a year-round destination.
He says: “How Morecambe capitalises on that will be crucial. What we don’t want to see is people driving there, parking their cars, rushing into Eden and spending two or three hours there before driving home.
“What will help the economy more is people spending time in the town, even if it’s for a meal in a café, staying in hotels and going on
For some people the seaside is a very nostalgic
place personally, but also on a cultural level we all know what it represents and the values that go with it. We like the idea of the seaside
This year alone it has hosted events for the likes of Beaverbrooks, the National Union of Journalists, the Northern Premier League, National Farm Attractions’ Network, The Communication Workers Union and Chartered Trading Standards.
Meet Blackpool says it is already on track to hit a near-70 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue – with more than £5m of booking enquires and confirmations lined up.
Eden Project
Continuing its upwards trajectory, the conference bureau is expected to bring in more than £10m a year to the town by 2028.
to visit somewhere else in Lancashire. You have to give people a reason to stay over.”
Looking at the overall state of Lancashire’s seaside, David says: “Compared to where we were in the 80s things are improving. For somewhere like Morecambe that was probably its darkest time. The seaside is being brought back into mainstream culture more.”
Part of that is nostalgia, he adds: “For some people the seaside is a very nostalgic place personally, but also on a cultural level we all know what it represents and the values that go with it. We like the idea of the seaside.”
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