Eden to shine a spotlight on city

Growth in popularity of ‘staycations’ could help Scottish first be a big hit

An Eden destination in Dundee would attract people from across the UK amid the rise of “staycations”.

The Courier revealed yesterday the Eden Project, the education and environment charity best known for its massive ecology visitor attraction in Cornwall, has set its sights on Dundee for its first Scottish location.

A feasibility study to find a suitable location will begin early next month but excitement is already growing about the millions of visitors it could bring to Tayside.

With uncertainty surrounding international travel likely to continue in the coming years and more people considering the environmental impact of long haul flights, it is hoped more people from the UK will consider a holiday in Tayside.

Alison Henderson, chief executive of Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce, said: “I think this is a brilliant thing for the whole area.

“The V&A has begun the transformation but we need more of these really big projects to capture the attention of investors and visitors.

“At a time when climate change is on everyone’s minds I was particularly struck by the links to eco tourism because I think that has a big future.

“Tourists are going to be looking to go to places that value eco tourism and there will be a rise in ‘staycations’ so I’m really excited to hear more about what that will entail.

“Staycationers will fill in the gaps we will see in coming years from reduced international travel so tourism businesses will be looking for things to help set their area apart and encourage people to visit places nearer home.”

Since the original Eden opened in 2001, it has attracted 21 million visitors and generated £2 billion into the local economy.

It is hoped a similar development in Dundee will help revive the tourism industry, which is facing major losses at the hands of coronavirus.

Caroline Warburton, VisitScotland’s regional leadership director, said: “It is very exciting to hear that a feasibility study will be carried out into a proposed new Eden Project in Dundee.

“The city’s Unesco City of Design status and the phenomenal success of V&A Dundee has helped to put the city in the global spotlight and the possibility of an additional attraction of this calibre would play a significant role in supporting the city and Scotland’s economic recovery in the future, and play an important role in attracting visitors when the time is right once again.”

Ms Henderson also welcomed the boost to local hotels and food businesses as 80% of supplies to Eden in Cornwall are sourced locally.

She said: “What I liked is the talk about linking up with local business and using local suppliers because we do need to see more of that.

“Whether it’s engagement, the supply chain, creating jobs and apprenticeships, we already do really well at connecting businesses and it’s really reassuring to here that is something Eden wants to do.”