9 visitor attraction trends to look out for in 2021
They say crisis breeds innovation, and innovations in the visitor attraction industry certainly came thick and fast in 2020, prompting some striking shifts. There’s still much to overcome, but the pauses and pivots of 2020 are proving fertile ground for some exciting attraction trends in 2021.
We’ve asked industry leaders to share their thoughts on the coming year, so you can start to anticipate what 2021 might look like for your visitor attraction.
"UK tourism - the UK's fifth biggest industry and third largest employer - will bounce back from the pandemic but it will take time and will not be without pain,” says ALVA’s Director Bernard Donoghue. “It is unlikely that the UK will receive the same number of overseas tourists that it did last year for a number of years, so in the meantime it must nurture the domestic market, learn to be more innovative, more flexible and more creative in order to be sustainable and successful."
Many visitor attractions have used this past year to rethink their approach so they’re in a better position as we move forward into 2021 and beyond. Stephen Manion, Manager of Arundel Castle in West Sussex, says, “[The pandemic] has made us look closely at our whole visitor experience and ask: ‘Why do we do this?’ And if the answer is ‘because we always have done,’ then it is challenged by us.”
It all points to a year that promises to positively disrupt the status quo.
Here is a sneak peek of some of the 2021 visitor attraction trends we have uncovered.
1. The rise of digital continues unabated
A strong digital presence became essential to the survival of visitor attractions during the first lockdown. Attractions discovered that digital is cheaper, more flexible and more engaging than print or broadcast.
Social media became a lifeline. Caroline Sanger-Davies, Director of Marketing at Chester Zoo, says, “We saw huge success with our virtual zoo days during the first lockdown, with over a million people viewing the first one. It’s really important that we continue to engage with our members, who due to restricted visitor numbers, may not be able to visit us as often as in previous years. Through virtual visits and our much-loved magazine, plus online talks, we are finding new ways to stay in touch.”
With eyes now wide open to the immediate benefits and longer-term potential of digital, VAs will pour even more resources into it in 2021 – or run the risk of being left behind. The digital approach is primed to go mainstream across the entire visitor journey; expect seamless online booking experiences, greater personalisation and the use of digital maps, apps and tours over printed materials as standard in 2021.
Visitors have come to count on it, too. Matt Edwards, Access’s Visitor Attractions Solutions Consultant says, “The expectations people have to book tickets, buy memberships and interact with an attraction online has become ingrained.”
2. The experience economy explodes
After a year of separation and waiting, people will want to splash out on bucket-list experiences and to seek out things to do that will help them feel more connected to each other in 2021.
“People have realised that their most treasured memories have been experiencing things with loved ones and creating memories together,” says Donoghue. “There's more of an emphasis on emotional value than monetary value now, just look at the huge popularity of BBC One's The Repair Shop. Attractions are well-placed to capitalise on that.”
Donoghue also nods to the most popular gifts bought in attractions' online shops this year – jigsaws, board games, gardening equipment, garden seeds, books about local history, ancestry products, baking products and cocktail-making equipment – as clues to what people really value. “People are finding joy in acquiring skills, in simple pleasures, in making and crafting and nurturing, and a little bit of indulgence. Attractions that offer workshops, hands-on experiences, teach yourself guides at site and online can really benefit from this.”
3. Front of house staff become even more prominent
2021 will see front of house teams become even more important to the visitor experience.
With online bookings, contactless pavements and social distancing here for the foreseeable future, VAs will continue to have reduced direct contact with visitors. Consequently, it’s crucial that visitors’ face-to-face interactions with attractions are first class.
In 2021, expect to increase investment in growing and training front-of-house teams for essential roles and responsibilities, such as providing a warm welcome and enforcing Covid-19 guidelines in a friendly, reassuring and effective manner.
It’s something Chester Zoo has already started to implement. “We’ve introduced a Welcome Team, staff from across the zoo, many normally in office-based roles, working out in the zoo to support social distancing and help visitors to navigate around the zoo. We’ve had a fantastic response to that with both visitors and staff alike enjoying being able to have socially-distanced chats,” says Sanger-Davies.
