“The Metaverse offers the attractions world the incredible ability to transport and engage guests from anywhere in the world, redefining the meaning of footfall”
Danny Burzlaff, head of attractions by UNIT9 / Photo: UNIT9
The UNIT9 Group has launched a new division, Attractions by UNIT9, to partner with museums, cultural institutions and theme parks to explore the opportunities that come with advancements in AR, VR, XR, Web3, metaverse experiences, immersive theatre, gamification, world-building, avatar creation and high-craft 3D.
The venture is launched by Daniel Burzlaff, who previously worked at Universal Studios Florida and SeaWorld Orlando, and has helped design immersive content for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Beijing and the Roald Dahl Story Company UK.
Recent attractions projects by UNIT9 include immersive virtual art and gaming experience Unframed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; augmented reality app Moonshot at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston; and the multisensory Bentley Centenary installation at the Bentley Visitor Centre.
The company is currently working on a new project with former client the Centre for World Culture based in Saudi Arabia, as well as an immersive cultural experience in Egypt.
Why is the visitor attraction market so exciting for UNIT9? The visitor attractions market holds so many opportunities for exploration, education and adventure.
Audiences are ready for an elevated tech-led connection and we’re incredibly excited to be able to match that growing demand with interactive, engaging visitor experiences.
What trends are you seeing in the attractions market? We’re seeing families becoming a lot more reliant on their children to direct entertainment and call the shots on experience decisions.
This influential younger cohort – Gen Alpha – are the first generation to grow up truly digitally native with tech savvy parents. Not only will they be expecting digital touches in every experience they engage with – they will be actively demanding it.
We expect to see tech becoming a more fluid, intuitive and seamlessly integrated aspect of the visitor experience. Especially AI systems and the personalised interactivity they facilitate, which will increasingly become the norm as the technical sophistication of audiences rises.
Are there any particularly innovative technologies shaping this market right now? There are a few areas I’m pretty excited about right now. Hyper immersive activations – where guests are thrust into the adventure through interactive, customisable and shareable experiences imbued with cutting-edge technology, social interactions and a strong theme to tie it all together – are location-based entertainment gold dust. Disney’s Galactic Starcruiser Hotel is a prime example of this.
Along with those types of experiences, AI and AR are doing a huge amount to shape the market. AI continues to enhance the user journey with personalised storytelling, allowing the guest to essentially become the hero of their own adventure. And AR is fast becoming a critical component of the most engaging guest experiences – from a personal concierge to an innovative game mechanic or engaging educational device.
Why should attractions providers take notice of the Metaverse? The Metaverse is the next iteration of the internet. It’s a platform that will pave the future of interactivity and engagement and will totally change the way we interact with the world.
The Metaverse offers the attractions world the incredible ability to transport and engage guests from anywhere in the world, redefining the meaning of footfall.
Not only that, it can also support a physical visit to an attraction, enhancing an environment with digital augmentations or by offering access to a virtual concierge system and allowing the guest to customise their visit, order food, purchase merchandise and enjoy a personalised tour. These new revenue streams not only offer lucrative profit opportunities, they also bring the potential to connect with new guests in new ways pre, during and post visit, extending the user journey and building loyalty among visitors.
What are you working on right now? I can’t go into too much detail, but we have a very interesting project incorporating intuitive and fluid AI systems that respond to user input, curating specific entertainment and educational responses in real time so that guests can enjoy a personalised experience.
We’re also working on a multisensory immersive destination within a cultural park.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2022 issue 2
Editor's letter: Open for all
We must listen to the communities we’re trying to serve if we’re going to make attractions inclusive for everyone, says Magali Robathan
Interview: Chris Mather
As the Gretna Green Experience opens in Scotland, Mather & Co’s CEO shares the highs and lows of almost three decades in exhibition design
Waterparks: Down to earth
The world’s first ‘living waterslides’, a hydroponic farm, rooftop beehives and more than 1,500 trees – all part of the Therme Manchester next generation waterpark’s aims to be as green as possible
Museums: Gardens of the future
Dubai’s new Museum of the Future has opened with a bang. We look at how the innovative landscaping aims to support the museum’s message
Technology: A whole new world
The metaverse is coming, and the attractions industry needs to pay attention. Lesley Morisetti explores the challenges and opportunities
Immersive art: In the picture
Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is part of a massive trend promising to offer new perspectives on art and artists
Awards: Museums & Heritage Awards
As the Oscars of the museum world celebrate the best, brightest and most creative, we take a look at this year’s winners
Tourism: The winds of change
Attractions providers not willing to take risks and get truly creative will get left behind, says Dr Terry Stevens. Here’s how to stay ahead of the curve
Research: A sustainable future
Research shows that consumers want attractions to get greener, faster, and they’re actively pushing for change. BVA BDRC’s Jon Young talks us through the numbers
“The Metaverse offers the attractions world the incredible ability to transport and engage guests from anywhere in the world, redefining the meaning of footfall”
Danny Burzlaff, head of attractions by UNIT9 / Photo: UNIT9
The UNIT9 Group has launched a new division, Attractions by UNIT9, to partner with museums, cultural institutions and theme parks to explore the opportunities that come with advancements in AR, VR, XR, Web3, metaverse experiences, immersive theatre, gamification, world-building, avatar creation and high-craft 3D.
The venture is launched by Daniel Burzlaff, who previously worked at Universal Studios Florida and SeaWorld Orlando, and has helped design immersive content for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Beijing and the Roald Dahl Story Company UK.
Recent attractions projects by UNIT9 include immersive virtual art and gaming experience Unframed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; augmented reality app Moonshot at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston; and the multisensory Bentley Centenary installation at the Bentley Visitor Centre.
The company is currently working on a new project with former client the Centre for World Culture based in Saudi Arabia, as well as an immersive cultural experience in Egypt.
Why is the visitor attraction market so exciting for UNIT9? The visitor attractions market holds so many opportunities for exploration, education and adventure.
Audiences are ready for an elevated tech-led connection and we’re incredibly excited to be able to match that growing demand with interactive, engaging visitor experiences.
What trends are you seeing in the attractions market? We’re seeing families becoming a lot more reliant on their children to direct entertainment and call the shots on experience decisions.
This influential younger cohort – Gen Alpha – are the first generation to grow up truly digitally native with tech savvy parents. Not only will they be expecting digital touches in every experience they engage with – they will be actively demanding it.
We expect to see tech becoming a more fluid, intuitive and seamlessly integrated aspect of the visitor experience. Especially AI systems and the personalised interactivity they facilitate, which will increasingly become the norm as the technical sophistication of audiences rises.
Are there any particularly innovative technologies shaping this market right now? There are a few areas I’m pretty excited about right now. Hyper immersive activations – where guests are thrust into the adventure through interactive, customisable and shareable experiences imbued with cutting-edge technology, social interactions and a strong theme to tie it all together – are location-based entertainment gold dust. Disney’s Galactic Starcruiser Hotel is a prime example of this.
Along with those types of experiences, AI and AR are doing a huge amount to shape the market. AI continues to enhance the user journey with personalised storytelling, allowing the guest to essentially become the hero of their own adventure. And AR is fast becoming a critical component of the most engaging guest experiences – from a personal concierge to an innovative game mechanic or engaging educational device.
Why should attractions providers take notice of the Metaverse? The Metaverse is the next iteration of the internet. It’s a platform that will pave the future of interactivity and engagement and will totally change the way we interact with the world.
The Metaverse offers the attractions world the incredible ability to transport and engage guests from anywhere in the world, redefining the meaning of footfall.
Not only that, it can also support a physical visit to an attraction, enhancing an environment with digital augmentations or by offering access to a virtual concierge system and allowing the guest to customise their visit, order food, purchase merchandise and enjoy a personalised tour. These new revenue streams not only offer lucrative profit opportunities, they also bring the potential to connect with new guests in new ways pre, during and post visit, extending the user journey and building loyalty among visitors.
What are you working on right now? I can’t go into too much detail, but we have a very interesting project incorporating intuitive and fluid AI systems that respond to user input, curating specific entertainment and educational responses in real time so that guests can enjoy a personalised experience.
We’re also working on a multisensory immersive destination within a cultural park.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2022 issue 2
Editor's letter: Open for all
We must listen to the communities we’re trying to serve if we’re going to make attractions inclusive for everyone, says Magali Robathan
Interview: Chris Mather
As the Gretna Green Experience opens in Scotland, Mather & Co’s CEO shares the highs and lows of almost three decades in exhibition design
Waterparks: Down to earth
The world’s first ‘living waterslides’, a hydroponic farm, rooftop beehives and more than 1,500 trees – all part of the Therme Manchester next generation waterpark’s aims to be as green as possible
Museums: Gardens of the future
Dubai’s new Museum of the Future has opened with a bang. We look at how the innovative landscaping aims to support the museum’s message
Technology: A whole new world
The metaverse is coming, and the attractions industry needs to pay attention. Lesley Morisetti explores the challenges and opportunities
Immersive art: In the picture
Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is part of a massive trend promising to offer new perspectives on art and artists
Awards: Museums & Heritage Awards
As the Oscars of the museum world celebrate the best, brightest and most creative, we take a look at this year’s winners
Tourism: The winds of change
Attractions providers not willing to take risks and get truly creative will get left behind, says Dr Terry Stevens. Here’s how to stay ahead of the curve
Research: A sustainable future
Research shows that consumers want attractions to get greener, faster, and they’re actively pushing for change. BVA BDRC’s Jon Young talks us through the numbers
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.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
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