One year on: what changes to visitor attractions are here to stay?
It’s been a year since the UK went into its first lockdown. Visitor attractions have been forced to pivot, flex and adapt at speeds that seemed unimaginable just 12 months ago. The alternative was closure or, worse, being responsible for helping the spread of Covid-19.
At the more extreme end of the scale, museums transformed into vaccination centres. Distilleries more accustomed to giving tours turned their hands to making hand sanitiser. Escape rooms operators opened farm shops.
But for most visitor attractions, operating during a pandemic – when restrictions allowed customers to visit – looked a little more like life as we know it, albeit it with time slots, face masks and social distancing signage. There have been positive changes too. Digital technology developed at an astonishing rate. Staff whose roles were, perhaps, under-valued have come to the fore. Visitors gained a deeper appreciation of the pleasure of a proper day out.
Some of these changes would have happened despite Covid-19; the pandemic simply hastened their arrival and adoption. Of these, many look set to stay.
Here are five changes to continue investing in and making permanent and/or more prominent features of your visitor attraction.
1. Hygiene
Unsurprisingly, hygiene standards are unlikely to return to pre-Covid levels as life around us returns to normal. Stricter cleaning schedules are here to stay – as is the increased transparency around your hygiene practices. Visitors are accustomed to new initiatives such as free hand sanitiser and access to information about cleaning procedures.
Cleaning is no longer a behind-the-scenes task. Seeing cleaning tasks being carried out, and even highlighted on social media, is all part and parcel of reassuring your visitors and improving their experience in the post-pandemic world. The challenging part is packaging up this unsexy message in a way that’s appealing, reassuring and on brand.
2. Outdoors
Even when indoor attractions can re-open, it’s going to take a while for visitors to feel completely comfortable in them, which is hardly surprising given we’ve spent the last year being told that mixing outdoors is the only safe way to do it.
Indoor attractions will have to work extra hard to reassure visitors that it’s safe to return. If your indoor attraction includes an outdoor area, it’s well worth highlighting and making it a bigger part of your visitor experience if possible.
3. Digital marketing
The pivot and flex approach forced on visitor attractions by lockdowns played to the strengths of digital marketing, and digital offerings will remain the core marketing activity for the foreseeable, and filter into other areas of your attraction.
Lucy Casot, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland said: “Whilst being closed during the pandemic, museums and galleries across Scotland have responded to the challenges of continuing audience engagement by offering a wide range of digital events, activities, and exhibitions. This has led to a focus on the benefits and importance of digital skills development. Investment in a digital offer is something that will last beyond the reopening of museums and galleries and will be used alongside and to support physical exhibitions.”
4. Contactless tech
Online or contactless ticket entry, cashless payments, virtual queuing, QR codes and app-based audio guides, navigation and information points are just some of the tech that visitor attractions quickly implemented to help them function safely and effectively throughout the pandemic.
Much of this technology was available before, but the pandemic hastened its adoption – and now visitors are used to the improved visitor experience, it looks like it’s here to stay. If you haven’t already, invest in tech that reduces touchpoints while improving visitor experience.
5. Sustainability
Encouraging a sustainable approach to recovery probably won’t be a top priority in government policy as tourism businesses do whatever it takes to pull themselves through the pandemic, but customers are likely to remember the clear blue skies, birdsong and town centres reclaimed by wildlife that struck a chord during the early days of lockdown. Expect sustainability to inch closer to the top of the list of visitor priorities than ever before. Investing in sustainable policies now could pay dividends in the future.
