The Eden Project reports worst-ever loss
UK tourist attraction The Eden Project has reported its worst-ever loss.
The Eden Trust accounts for 2012-13 show a deficit of £6.3m for the year ending March 2013, compared with a surplus the previous year of £136,000, reports the BBC.
The eco-attraction, based in Cornwall, said its underlying trading loss was about £1.3m compared with a profit of £3.6m in the previous year.
It said it had been hit by the 2012 Olympics, poor summer weather, and the economic downturn.
In the accounts, it said: "Eden has been reluctant to reduce its level of employment, but has concluded that this is essential to preserve and grow Eden for the longer term.
Since March 2013, the attraction has also sold surplus land.
The results come as a new survey from Sykes Cottages shows few of us visit attractions on our doorsteps.
The YouGov research was to find out how many of us have actually visited the UK’s top attractions from a list of ten places across England, Wales and Scotland, including Buckingham Palace, Edinburgh Castle and the Eden Project.
16% of respondents had not visited any of the attractions on the list. Here’s the breakdown of how many had visited the others.
- Buckingham Palace 38%
- Edinburgh Castle 38%
- Stonehenge 35%
- The National Gallery in London 33%
- Roman Baths in Bath 29%
- Eden Project 21%
- Hadrian’s Wall 21%
- Caernarfon Castle 20%
- Durham Cathedral 16%
- The Royal Armouries in Leeds 9%
Tom Lowes of Sykes Cottages said: "In particular, our survey found the beautiful monuments and historic locations in the North of England had some of the lowest visitor numbers on the list.
"We were also surprised by how few people had visited the Eden Project in Cornwall, which is the largest indoor rainforest in the world."
Diane
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