The medieval castle famously known as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films has appointed a former Disney vice president to take over as Chief Executive. The unusual move sees Frenchman Christian Perdrier become the first Disney-trained CEO ever to run a major historic UK attraction.

Perdrier, from Burgandy in France, has been appointed CEO of both Alnwick Castle and the controversial Alnwick Garden under one management structure. Alnwick Castle and The Alnwick Garden will jointly become one of the UK’s top ten most popular paid-for visitor destinations* and the single largest attraction in the North East of England with visitor numbers approaching 800,000 a year.

The appointment marks the beginning of a new strategy to become increasingly creative in how both sites attract visitors. It contrasts with the news that regional development agency One North East is axing a number of projects to meet a budget cut of nearly £50m, with rural programmes, tourism and culture all set to suffer.

Perdrier’s objectives include overhauling customer service levels and increasing the amount of revenue generated by both Castle and Garden for North East businesses. His number one priority, however, is to transform the town of Alnwick into a world renowned visitor destination by promoting the joint advantages of the town, the castle and the garden.

The Duchess of Northumberland, a founding trustee of The Alnwick Garden Trust, said: “Christian can do for visitors to Alnwick what Walt Disney has done for children and families all over the world. Disney is synonymous with excellent customer service, superb staff training and unparalleled visitor experiences. While we don’t expect to convert Hogwarts into the Magic Kingdom, I greatly admire the Disney effect and look forward to seeing how we can attract visitors to Alnwick in future.

“As with any growing business, we needed to bring in the appropriate expertise to ensure further growth and improve our professionalism. Christian has world class credentials and is the perfect person to ensure Alnwick becomes a worldwide visitor destination.”

Perdrier will also spearhead the final push to secure the capital needed to complete the construction of The Alnwick Garden so that it can continue to deliver its charitable objectives.

Christian Perdrier commented: “Alnwick has huge potential. The combination of attractions makes the region a unique place to visit.
“The benefits to the Northumberland community and the North East as a whole could be huge. We have always been conscious of how our visitor numbers can positively affect the local economy. Alnwick Castle and The Alnwick Garden attract tourists from around the world and we will ensure our new approach benefits as many businesses in the region as possible.

“As if it wasn’t enough to work with the most ambitious public garden to be built in the last 100 years sitting next to a medieval castle that is nearly 1,000 years old, we also have the world’s largest tree house, the UK’s only poison garden and the home of Harry Potter on our doorstep. We should start to think of Alnwick as the leading international visitor attraction in the UK.”