95. We still do not know who decided the various visitor forecast figures, who changed them, or why. However, ultimate responsibility must lie with the Board of NMEC and successive shareholders. The fluctuations in the visitor forecasts from more than 15 million to 10 million, up to 12 million and back down to 10 and finally 6 million seems to have been made without proper regard to the immense financial implications those changes entailed. It appears that NMEC, the Millennium Commission and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport accepted the over-optimistic opinion polls without considering the underlying assumptions or exploring a new methodology on which to base those crucial figures.…
