500,000 visitors welcomed in i360’s first year

Half a million people took a ride on the £46.2 million Brighton seafront tourist attraction in its first 12 months.

This is 200,000 short of the 700,000 targeted in the 2013 business case put forward to convince councillors to support its construction with public funds.

But attraction bosses said the number was a great achievement for a venue that was starting from scratch and that the figure still fell within their target parameters.

Executive director Steve Bax, who started in the role last month, said the 170m venue was achieving where it mattered in paying off its loan to the council on time and in helping to rejuvenate the seafront

The venue paid back £2.6 million in its first year of operation, money which has been used to regenerate the seafront around the West Pier and which will next be used to reconstruct the Madeira Terraces.

Bosses have also pointed out high customer feedback as a major positive from the first year with 80 per cent of TripAdvisor reviews outstanding or very good.

They were confident visitor numbers would grow in upcoming years with improving rail services, increasing city visitor numbers, continuing tourism growth from major markets China and the US and the i360’s rising popularity with travel agents and tours.

The tower’s architect David Marks said: “We didn’t hit our original visitor numbers. It’s well within the parameters agreed in the business plan so it’s not really a worry. There’s been compensating measures as well, the yield is higher than anticipated, sales of Nyetimber [the sparkling wine served on board] are higher than anticipated.

“The business plan was written almost four years ago and circumstances have worked out a little bit different but the attraction has worked out fine. It’s been a great year.”

Mr Bax said: “You can get hung up a lot on visitor numbers, that is one measure of this business. But actually the most important one for local people is have we paid our commitment to the council and the answer is yes.”

Brexit and Southern Rail were also identified as reasons why visitor numbers were not higher with Mr Bax, in his first press interview exclusively with The Argus, calling on the Government to intervene and end the rail dispute.

Former chief executive Eleanor Harris was highly critical of the “diabolical” rail service as a reason for her stepping down from the company last year.

The i360 suffered a number of high-profile technical problems, resulting in customers being stuck in the air for hours.

Mr Marks, who created the unique attraction with his wife and business partner Julia Barfield, said the teething problems of the early months were now behind the venue, which has had no major technical issues since a shutdown for Mother’s Day in March.

The attraction has had 13 days of unscheduled closures for technical difficulties or high winds in its first year - in addition to a fortnight planned closure in january for maintenance.

Mr Marks said: “In some case we’ve simply had to make adjustments to the control system and software, in other instances we’ve had to replace certain bits of kit and in other cases it was just a question of making sure we could get passengers down more quickly in the past.

“Hopefully all of the major issues are well behind us.”

As part of its first anniversary celebrations, the i360 has renamed and redecorated its restaurant in response to negative customer feedback.

Mr Bax said the old design had failed to make the most of its spectacular view.

In January, the i360’s licence was changed, removing the restriction of only selling alcoholic drinks to customers with their meals.

It now has new sections to encourage customers to go in for just a drink or afternoon tea while the menu has been changed to bring in more Brighton-inspired dishes.

Mr Bax: “The visitor feedback said they didn’t like it. And so we did something about it.

“We did not make enough of the fantastic position we have and we now have.”

‘IT’S A FANTASTIC ACHIEVEMENT FROM A ZERO BASE. WE SHOULD BE DOING CARTWHEELS’

How would you describe the first year?

i360 architect David Marks (DM): It’s been a long journey to get here, we started the project 12 years ago.

After one year we have become the number one paid-for attraction in Brighton, it’s extremely well-received on TripAdvisor, we’ve had over 500,000 visitors which I think is a fantastic result from a standing start. There’s lots to celebrate at the end of the first year.

Will second-year improvements need to include better reliability?

i360 executive director Steve Bax (SB): A year ago the i360 had not had anybody on it. It was brand new and there were teething problems which are to be expected. But what happens with that is a massive learning curve for our technical staff and our maintenance team and they have learnt so much over the last year. And we are now in a really good place.

So are these teething problems now in the past?

SB: There hasn’t been any issues since March. In my first week I came in at 6am to see how technical guys got this up and running and I was amazed and kind of thrilled by their enthusiasm and attention to detail.

DM: In some case we’ve simply had to make adjustments to the control system and software, in other instances we’ve had to replace certain bits of kit and in other cases it was just a question of making sure we could get passengers down more quickly in the past. Hopefully all of the major issues are well behind us.

How does the 500,000 visitor number match up with your targets?

SB: It’s under what was predicted in the business case. In the business case there was a figure of just over 700,000. So we haven’t achieved our business case but I am delighted we’ve achieved over 500,000 visitors in our first year. We should be doing cartwheels about it because that is a fantastic achievement from a zero base. And we’ve done that with the stoppages as well as other things. We’ve had Brexit and Southern Rail issues this year which has had an impact for everybody in Brighton.

DM: We didn’t hit our original visitor numbers, its well within the parameters agreed in the business plan so it’s not really a worry. There’s been compensating measures as well, the yield is higher than anticipated, sales of Nyetimber are higher than anticipated, we’ve sold more glasses of Nyetimber than possibly anybody else apart from Nyetimber themselves. It’s ups and downs. The business plan was written almost four years ago and circumstances have worked out a little bit different but the attraction has worked out fine. It’s been a great year.

Will those 2013 visitor numbers need to be revisited? Are you confident they are achievable in future years?

SB: I am confident. I should point out that despite not hitting the visitor numbers in the business case, we have paid all our financial commitments. You can get hung up a lot on visitor numbers, that is one measure of this business.

But actually the most important one for local people is have we paid our commitment to the council and the answer is yes. We’ve paid £2.6 million to the council this year and that is without all the start-up fees we paid before we even opened. We’ve enabled regeneration in this part of the city and I hope we are playing a part in driving visitors down here. And this is only the beginning, this is our first year and this is what we’ve been able to achieve through the public funding of us and we’re already seeing the benefit of that.

DM: I think visitor numbers will go up in years to come. I think visitors to Brighton will increase, it did take a bit of a dip in 2015. We’ve obviously had the challenge of Southern Rail but hopefully that will get resolved. There are strong visitor numbers from China and the US now and we know they’re keen not just to visit London but other parts of the UK. The other thing to factor in is we haven’t had the full impact of the travel trade, through travel agents and tours, those numbers are likely to increase as the attraction becomes better known through word of mouth and marketing.

How key is it that the Southern Rail dispute is resolved?

SB: It has to be sorted out. It is a very silly situation to be in. We rely on those direct links from London, we need those people to come down and have a fantastic day in Brighton but they need to have a reliable and regular service to be able to do that. It would be great for the Government to step in a bit more and sort the situation out so that people have the confidence that they can come down and have a great service.

Why was the Belle Vue restaurant rebranded and redecorated so soon after it opened?

SB: I think visitor feedback said they didn’t like it so we did something about it. It’s very difficult starting from zero. You have a design in your head, you know the angle you are going for but the feedback from visitors was they weren’t that keen on it. I don’t think it was anything in particular. You can’t find a better spot to sit and have a meal with a fantastic view. We did not make enough of the fantastic position we have and we now have.

It has been transformed, we have a brand new menu which is Brighton inspired, we’re making more a feature of the bar, it’s the most impressive bar I’ve ever seen, and we’re making more of that so people can come in and have a lovely glass of wine on a summer’s evening with one of the best views of the seafront you can get.

What can visitors expect in year two?

DM: We’re continuing to improve the visitor experience. As a result of customer feedback, people wanted to know about the attraction so we opened an exhibition which explains in some detail how it was built. I think people wanted even more than that so we may bring out another book or guide book which tells the story behind it. People wanted a change to the restaurant and we’ve delivered that too. We hope people in Brighton will view this as a venue in the evening as well as the day.

SEAFRONT ATTRACTION IN FACTS AND FIGURES NUMBERS

170 metres tall

138 metres highest point pod reaches

£46.2 million construction cost

41.15:1 height to width ratio making it world’s thinnest tower until recently

£36.2 million Public Works Loan Board loan via Brighton and Hove City Council

£2.6 million paid back in loan repayments

£1 million set-up fees paid during the construction period

£1.8 million of payback used by council for schemes at Madeira Terraces and King’s Road Arches.

150 new Brighton and Hove Living Wage jobs created, with many more through business partnerships, supply chains and additional visitors

39,000 free tickets given to the city’s school children

192 free school trips

26,000 members allowing BN1, BN2, BN3 and BN41 residents half-price tickets for just £1 a year.

Nine awards for design and innovation, including a RIBA National Award.

One royal visitor in the Duke of Edinburgh who officially opened the attraction in October 2016.

55,000 glasses of Nyetimber sparkling wine served at the onboard Sky Bar.

Seven charities supported including local partner Trust for Developing Communities.

Five weddings.

176 private events.