For all the pain and misery the pandemic has wrought on our sector, it’s presented a major opportunity to permanently change and improve it,” says Anthony Rawlins, CEO of Digital Visitor.
“There are countless opportunities to kick-start this evolution, and it’s not change for change’s sake – it’s based on what consumers actually want, and what your businesses actually need.”
With this in mind, Digital Visitor has written a whitepaper, titled An Industry Renewed, to equip attractions with insights and ideas that will drive success in 2021 and beyond.
Agility and short-term focus “They say ‘necessity is the mother of invention’”, says Rawlins, “and, as an industry, we proved that in 2020. Think of those apps to order food and drink in pubs and museums creating digital tours and experiences. All that happened very quickly by focusing on the problem, identifying a short-term fix, and nimbly solving it with a ‘test and learn’ approach.
“It’s important to realise that in 2021 and beyond, we’ll need to keep hold of this ability to be agile and make it an integral part of our day-to-day business. When you think about what’s changed in the industry in the last 10 years, and what’s going to happen in the next two years, we need to prepare ourselves for continuous change. We have to embrace the mindset and approach to innovation that has enabled us to adapt to the current situation so quickly.”
Digital marketing “In March 2020, Digital Visitor surveyed 50 UK visitor attractions of all shapes and sizes and found the average marketing budget allocated to digital was around 25 per cent,” explains Rawlins. “Since then, there’s been a rapid and seismic shift in how marketing budgets are allocated in some previously resistant segments, and attractions are up-ending their budgets, spending more of it on digital marketing.
“This has many benefits – especially in the uncertain world we’re in right now. Firstly, it’s immediately optimisable. If it’s not working that day, you can change it. Secondly, you can turn it off instantly if something happens – you’re not committed to months of budget. If someone clicks on an ad, you know. If someone opens an email, you know. If someone visits a landing page then books, you know.
“In this context, digital marketing offers more visible and measurable value than traditional forms of marketing.”
This shift towards doing more digital marketing goes hand-in-hand with digital transformation, explains Rawlins: “If you offered booking by email or phone pre-pandemic and then shifted to online booking during it, will you (and more importantly, your customers) want to go back to the old ways after a vaccine arrives and normal service resumes? I seriously doubt it.”
Staying and spending locally “Over the next 12 months, we’ll all spend more time locally, which presents a great opportunity for attractions,” says Rawlins. “We don’t know how long lockdowns will last, so we’re not going to plan our six-hour trip to see our family, as we might be confined to quarters – or they might be.
“If we want to get away for a few days, it makes sense to look within an hour of where we live. Yes, it’s still relatively local, but given our confinement, it will still feel different enough and, no doubt, a world away.
“This desire to stay and spend locally opens up another opportunity by way of loyalty and membership programmes. For example, if an attraction offers people within 10-15 miles loyalty points every time they spend on food and drink, I guarantee they’ll pick up good local advocates in 2021. These loyalists are not only perfectly situated to keep coming back, but they’ll add extra clout to any local marketing.”
Shorter booking cycles “When restrictions were lifted in summer 2020, hundreds of thousands of people went mad booking holidays, which proves that you need to be ready for this latent demand because it will explode again, as people will want to book once things open up,” says Rawlins.
“Consumers are being clever about how they plan their trips and will be making travel decisions based on the most recent recommendations, meaning their booking cycle has shortened to just a few days and in some cases the same day. When restrictions are eased, focus on encouraging visits in the immediate and near-term.”
Experience explosion “The ‘experiences’ market is set to take off like never before in 2021. Even before the pandemic, people were buying more of them and were happy to pay handsomely for the privilege,” says Rawlins. “Providing special money-can’t-buy-moments will exceed customer expectations and build confidence in what you’re offering, which in turn, raises the perception of value. I think the attractions market will rebound spectacularly as soon as it’s able, as we place an even higher value on the experiences we buy.”
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2021 issue 1
Editor's letter: Doing better
The Black Lives Matter movement has challenged museums professionals to ask testing questions about their role in reparative history and the way we display and interpret racist and colonial collections
People: Brent Bushnell
Two Bit Circus has pivoted to an innovative online model aimed at keeping its community in touch
People: Michel Linet-Frion
After decades creating for Disney, Grévin and Center Parcs, Linet-Frion has launched his own consultancy
People: Anthony Rawlins
The Digital Visitor CEO explains a new whitepaper on how attractions can survive 2021 and beyond
Interview: Sarah Roots
Warner Bros’ Sarah Roots shares exciting details of the second Harry Potter Studio Tour, set to open in Japan in 2023
Inspired: Alone with Vermeer
The Mauritshuis in The Hague has allowed visitors one-to-one time with Vermeer’s <i>View of Delft</i>, ‘the most beautiful painting in the world’
Aquariums: Into the deep
Merlin and the Sea Life Trust share the highs and lows of the epic journey to get two whales to their new home in the world’s first beluga whale sanctuary in Iceland
Innovation: Sea change
Edge Innovations’ incredibly
life-like robot dolphins could spell the end of marine mammals in aquariums, says CEO Walt Conti
Interview: Bob Rogers
As BRC Imagination Arts celebrates 40 years in business, its founder celebrates his team’s achievements
Sponsored: Technically Creative
With clients including the Xplore
Family Entertainment Centre in Athens,
Technically Creative provides a one
stop, in-house solution to create
memorable and magical experiences.
We talk to CEO, Marc Broadbent
Sponsored: Fun Spot: Providing turnkey solutions
Industry innovator, Fun Spot, is on a roll, with a new EMEA
office and a range of innovative new products to help operators
deliver excellence to the family fun market. We find out more
Interview: Phil Hettema
The Hettema Group president on weathering the pandemic and creating powerful experiences
For all the pain and misery the pandemic has wrought on our sector, it’s presented a major opportunity to permanently change and improve it,” says Anthony Rawlins, CEO of Digital Visitor.
“There are countless opportunities to kick-start this evolution, and it’s not change for change’s sake – it’s based on what consumers actually want, and what your businesses actually need.”
With this in mind, Digital Visitor has written a whitepaper, titled An Industry Renewed, to equip attractions with insights and ideas that will drive success in 2021 and beyond.
Agility and short-term focus “They say ‘necessity is the mother of invention’”, says Rawlins, “and, as an industry, we proved that in 2020. Think of those apps to order food and drink in pubs and museums creating digital tours and experiences. All that happened very quickly by focusing on the problem, identifying a short-term fix, and nimbly solving it with a ‘test and learn’ approach.
“It’s important to realise that in 2021 and beyond, we’ll need to keep hold of this ability to be agile and make it an integral part of our day-to-day business. When you think about what’s changed in the industry in the last 10 years, and what’s going to happen in the next two years, we need to prepare ourselves for continuous change. We have to embrace the mindset and approach to innovation that has enabled us to adapt to the current situation so quickly.”
Digital marketing “In March 2020, Digital Visitor surveyed 50 UK visitor attractions of all shapes and sizes and found the average marketing budget allocated to digital was around 25 per cent,” explains Rawlins. “Since then, there’s been a rapid and seismic shift in how marketing budgets are allocated in some previously resistant segments, and attractions are up-ending their budgets, spending more of it on digital marketing.
“This has many benefits – especially in the uncertain world we’re in right now. Firstly, it’s immediately optimisable. If it’s not working that day, you can change it. Secondly, you can turn it off instantly if something happens – you’re not committed to months of budget. If someone clicks on an ad, you know. If someone opens an email, you know. If someone visits a landing page then books, you know.
“In this context, digital marketing offers more visible and measurable value than traditional forms of marketing.”
This shift towards doing more digital marketing goes hand-in-hand with digital transformation, explains Rawlins: “If you offered booking by email or phone pre-pandemic and then shifted to online booking during it, will you (and more importantly, your customers) want to go back to the old ways after a vaccine arrives and normal service resumes? I seriously doubt it.”
Staying and spending locally “Over the next 12 months, we’ll all spend more time locally, which presents a great opportunity for attractions,” says Rawlins. “We don’t know how long lockdowns will last, so we’re not going to plan our six-hour trip to see our family, as we might be confined to quarters – or they might be.
“If we want to get away for a few days, it makes sense to look within an hour of where we live. Yes, it’s still relatively local, but given our confinement, it will still feel different enough and, no doubt, a world away.
“This desire to stay and spend locally opens up another opportunity by way of loyalty and membership programmes. For example, if an attraction offers people within 10-15 miles loyalty points every time they spend on food and drink, I guarantee they’ll pick up good local advocates in 2021. These loyalists are not only perfectly situated to keep coming back, but they’ll add extra clout to any local marketing.”
Shorter booking cycles “When restrictions were lifted in summer 2020, hundreds of thousands of people went mad booking holidays, which proves that you need to be ready for this latent demand because it will explode again, as people will want to book once things open up,” says Rawlins.
“Consumers are being clever about how they plan their trips and will be making travel decisions based on the most recent recommendations, meaning their booking cycle has shortened to just a few days and in some cases the same day. When restrictions are eased, focus on encouraging visits in the immediate and near-term.”
Experience explosion “The ‘experiences’ market is set to take off like never before in 2021. Even before the pandemic, people were buying more of them and were happy to pay handsomely for the privilege,” says Rawlins. “Providing special money-can’t-buy-moments will exceed customer expectations and build confidence in what you’re offering, which in turn, raises the perception of value. I think the attractions market will rebound spectacularly as soon as it’s able, as we place an even higher value on the experiences we buy.”
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2021 issue 1
Editor's letter: Doing better
The Black Lives Matter movement has challenged museums professionals to ask testing questions about their role in reparative history and the way we display and interpret racist and colonial collections
People: Brent Bushnell
Two Bit Circus has pivoted to an innovative online model aimed at keeping its community in touch
People: Michel Linet-Frion
After decades creating for Disney, Grévin and Center Parcs, Linet-Frion has launched his own consultancy
People: Anthony Rawlins
The Digital Visitor CEO explains a new whitepaper on how attractions can survive 2021 and beyond
Interview: Sarah Roots
Warner Bros’ Sarah Roots shares exciting details of the second Harry Potter Studio Tour, set to open in Japan in 2023
Inspired: Alone with Vermeer
The Mauritshuis in The Hague has allowed visitors one-to-one time with Vermeer’s <i>View of Delft</i>, ‘the most beautiful painting in the world’
Aquariums: Into the deep
Merlin and the Sea Life Trust share the highs and lows of the epic journey to get two whales to their new home in the world’s first beluga whale sanctuary in Iceland
Innovation: Sea change
Edge Innovations’ incredibly
life-like robot dolphins could spell the end of marine mammals in aquariums, says CEO Walt Conti
Interview: Bob Rogers
As BRC Imagination Arts celebrates 40 years in business, its founder celebrates his team’s achievements
Sponsored: Technically Creative
With clients including the Xplore
Family Entertainment Centre in Athens,
Technically Creative provides a one
stop, in-house solution to create
memorable and magical experiences.
We talk to CEO, Marc Broadbent
Sponsored: Fun Spot: Providing turnkey solutions
Industry innovator, Fun Spot, is on a roll, with a new EMEA
office and a range of innovative new products to help operators
deliver excellence to the family fun market. We find out more
Interview: Phil Hettema
The Hettema Group president on weathering the pandemic and creating powerful experiences
London Museum will open four new food and drink destinations when it launches its new home
at Smithfield on 28 November, making hospitality a central part of the visitor experience at one
of the capital's biggest cultural openings of the year.
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger
cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance,
hospitality and public programming.
A US$50 million (£44.2 million, €51.2 million) transformation of Chicago's historic McCormick
Mansion has created a new destination that combines live magic, immersive theatre, dining and
private membership under one roof.
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
