If the last two years have taught us anything, it’s this: don’t forget your local and repeat visitors. They’re a powerful but oft-neglected audience. During the pandemic, this group became the lifeblood of visitor attractions up and down the UK, buying memberships, turning up for day visits and acting as ambassadors just when Visitor Attractions needed their support most.
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- Visitor Attractions
Mother’s Day has always been a popular time for people to have a day out at a visitor attraction, and this year presents an even bigger opportunity for VAs to draw in the crowds.
After two years of lockdowns, chances are that more people than ever will want to get out and about on Mother’s Day, spending precious time together and making memories that last a lifetime.
But how can you make sure they find and choose your visitor attraction for their Mother’s Day outing?
Here are five ideas to help your visitor attraction stand out from the competition and attract more visitors this Mother’s Day.
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- Visitor Attractions
Blue Monday – the third Monday of January – is labelled the most depressing day of the year.
Why? Christmas is already a distant memory and spring feels a long way away. It’s cold and dark. The back-to-work blues are still biting. Credit card bills ravaged by Christmas overspend have arrived and we’ve probably already given up on at least one of our New Year resolutions.
Throw in January 2022’s uncertainty and Omicron we’ve got another Blue Monday of unprecedented proportions.
Of course, the concept of Blue Monday is all a load of pseudoscience – the ‘scientific formula’ used to calculate the day is meaningless. But that’s not to say Blue Monday doesn’t have its uses.
January is the worst month for staff sickness absence. And one of the most common reasons given for sickness is mental health conditions such as stress, depression and anxiety (source: Office for National Statistics). So if you’re looking for an excuse to boost staff during this particularly demoralising month, Blue Monday is as good as any.
Executed thoughtfully, your efforts will be appreciated by Visitor Attractions employees who have navigated furlough, last-minute attraction closures and new ways of working over the last two years. Helping staff cope with their mental health will help decrease absenteeism, enhance engagement and boost productivity.
Here are 5 ways to boost your team on Blue Monday – and throughout the month. These suggestions are all affordable and accessible to staff working from home or on-site.
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- Visitor Attractions
To help your visitor attraction’s marketing team with their content planning for the next three months, we’ve cherry-picked five dates to be aware of and suggested a few content ideas for social and content.
There’s a focus on sustainability, community and equality - all big themes for 2022 - as well as a few ideas on how to mix up perennial appearances, such as Blue Monday and Valentine’s Day. Four of them are easy wins. The fifth requires a bit more planning and coordination, but it’ll pay dividends in the long run.
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- Visitor Attractions
From bold new openings and collaborations to engaging with the world’s most contemporary questions and issues, these attractions and exhibitions are leading the way for all visitor attractions in 2022.
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- Visitor Attractions
The key aim of COP26 was to limit global warming to 1.5°C. It was, in the words of US climate envoy John Kerry, the world’s “last best chance” to avert climate breakdown.
After two weeks of wrangling in Glasgow, it seems that the aim is down but perhaps not yet entirely out.
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- Visitor Attractions
For many people, a festive day out is a core Christmas tradition. That means developing an annual Christmas event can be a great way for your visitor attraction to help bring people together, boost revenue and drive repeat visits.
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- Visitor Attractions
In a recent Access All Areas session, Chris Massey, Product Manager of Access Gamma, talked to Yasmina Khan, Sales and Membership Manager at Glasgow Science Centre, about how Access Gamma powers their visitor attraction efficiently, and the process they went through to install it.
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- Visitor Attractions
When you think of shows such as Bridgerton, Poldark or Peaky Blinders, chances are you picture the locations they were filmed in as much as you do the characters: the Featheringtons’ magnificent house in Bath, Ross Poldark’s cottage on Bodmin Moor or Charlie Strong’s yard, provided by the Black Country Living Museum. Place is important in storytelling. It can be as vital to a programme as the main characters.
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- Visitor Attractions
Did you know there’s rainforest in the UK? It’s coastal temperate rainforest, which is rarer but just as important as the jungle-style rainforest you’re probably picturing. The problem is, there used to be a lot more of it. This is something rewilding can help with.
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- Visitor Attractions
