Planning for the British Millennium Festival: Establishing the Visitor Baseline and a Framework for Forecasting

This article is based on research undertaken for an ongoing study that seeks to develop a model of current and forecast visitors to Greenwich in London, England, from the validation of existing visitor flows, to the projected impact from an EXPO-style Festival planned to celebrate the Millennium, at the focal point of the international Meridian line. This official Millennium Festival is set to be the largest ever held in Britain with a peak visitor target of 30 million. Visitor typologies and behavior and the impact of new and extended visitor attractions are assessed to establish a visitor baseline and initial forecast of demand for the year-long Millennium Festival, focusing on the historical development and experience from international EXPOs and comparative city festivals, and the problems of visitor measurement and forecasting inherent in an open urban tourism destination.