Flight museum sees visitors to Concorde go supersonic

Published on Thursday 12 May 2005 15:31

MORE than 30,000 visitors have flocked to see Concorde since it was officially unveiled to the public six weeks ago.

And the supersonic jet’s base at the National Museum of Flight has seen its visitor numbers more than quadruple since Concorde arrived a year ago.

Tourism chiefs in East Lothian hope the plane’s success will bring in more visitors to the region.

The plane, Golf Bravo Alpha Alpha, was initially on show in pieces, after it was dismantled and reassembled for its complex journey from Heathrow Airport.

The jet was only unveiled in its entirety in March.

The East Fortune museum has seen visitor numbers increase 340 per cent over the last year.

Tourism Minister Patricia Ferguson today congratulated tourism bosses at the museum on Concorde’s success.

She said: "Tourism is a fiercely competitive, international industry, but Concorde’s success shows we have no reason to be overwhelmed by the competition."

Last year, bosses at the National Museum of Scotland predicted the supersonic jet would generate around 2.2 million a year for East Lothian.

Dr Gordon Rintoul, director of the National Museums of Scotland, said:

"This huge increase in visitor numbers to the Museum of Flight confirms the appeal of Concorde to a wide range of people."