The £30 million renovation of Nottingham Castle will make it one of the most popular tourist attractions outside of London.
That is the view of the historic site's new chief executive who has been set the target of increasing visitor numbers to between 350-400,000 every year when it re-opens to the public.
Sara Blair-Manning has been named as the new boss to lead the delivery of the castle regeneration, which will include new attractions, education areas and virtual reality experiences. It is expected to pump £90 million into Nottingham economy over the next 10 years.
She is currently the general manager of National Trust Properties in South Nottinghamshire and North Lincolnshire managing a number of sites including the acclaimed Workhouse at Southwell, which has just completed a £1.2m investment to broaden the visitor experience.
Her current portfolio, turning over £2 million a year, includes the 1,500-acre Gunby Hall in Lincolnshire.
In her six years as general manager she has boosted visitor numbers at those attractions from 75,000 to an expected 250,000 this year.
She plans to do the same in Nottingham, where she will take up her post on September 27..
She said: "We are turning this into something that will be the most visited tourist attraction outside of London, it needs to become the flagship of the city and that is what it will be.
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"My focus is going to be on the visitors and we are looking at getting 350,000 to 400,000 people through the doors every year.
"It is going to have a huge visitor focus. I want it to be a place where people want to come back as well as a place for children, tourists and adults."
Nottingham Castle, which is currently undergoing a huge transformation, will re-open with exciting and engaging interactive attractions in 2020.
The new experience will include the restored art galleries which will host national and international exhibitions and the caves will be exposed as never before
Interactive features will tell the story of outlaw Robin Hood as well as explaining the part played by the people of Nottingham in the 17th Century Civil War.
The £30 million regeneration of the 1000-year-old site is one of the biggest projects of its kind currently underway in the country.
Sara, who is moving back to Nottingham from Lincoln to take up the role, said she is excited to be returning back to the city where she was a student at Nottingham Trent University.
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She added: "I firmly believe this will re-establish Nottingham as a key destination on the tourist map.
"I loved living here as a student and never did I think I would be coming back to shape its future.
"Nottingham is the place I come when I want to go to the theatre or see a play.
“I am passionate about diversity, inclusion and education and have been successful in establishing and managing effective, multi-disciplinary and diverse teams of staff and volunteers.
"I believe that a high quality, educational, creative and accessible visitor offer leads to offering opportunities to reflect and learn from the past in order to safeguard the future.”