Skills That Will Take The Visitor Attraction Sector Forward.

Visitor attractions are increasingly expected to enhance their skills and capabilities in audience engagement due to shifts in customer behaviour, technology advancements, new regulations, and the ongoing impact of COVID-19.

With technology continually evolving, particularly digital technologies, new skills are vital to prepare the workforce for the future. This is especially true for the visitor experience and attractions sector, which is rapidly integrating 21st-century technology into its offerings.

Leveraging Data for Visitor Attraction Success

Data is a valuable commodity, and when its potential is unlocked, it can be central to business success. For visitor attractions, this requires developing new skills and adopting fresh perspectives, particularly as they merge traditional offerings with modern technology to attract and retain audiences.

The Information Age has generated a wealth of insights into human behaviour from online activities, transactions, and social media interactions. Interpreting this data requires specialised skills and new roles dedicated to transforming information into actionable insights that can benefit businesses.

Understanding audience behaviour is critical across all industries. For visitor attractions, especially after the pandemic-induced decline in visitors, re-evaluating operations and income generation based on audience insights is paramount. Ultimately, converting data into usable insights directly translates to revenue.

Technology and Personalisation in Tourism

Technology has already influenced numerous aspects of the tourism industry, introducing innovations like robot concierges, online booking systems, chatbots, and virtual guides. While there's a risk that automation could depersonalise the hospitality sector, which thrives on human interaction, technology can also be strategically used to enhance the personal touch. The visitor attraction sector is increasingly leveraging this to its advantage.

Addressing the Digital Skills Gap

Introducing new technology often necessitates upskilling personnel alongside investments in hardware and software. The growth of digital customer experiences and omnichannel environments has created a demand for skills in customer experience design, data analysis, and cross-channel operations. For attractions operating with limited resources, digital transformation can appear costly and daunting, but it doesn't have to be.

Larger organisations have begun investing in digitalisation to enhance visitor experience and storytelling. Most attractions recognise digital's value in marketing and social media for brand building and audience reach. With future audiences being digital natives, embracing digital transformation is now essential for offerings and experiences.

Technological advancements, especially over the last 24 months influenced by the pandemic, can significantly boost visitor engagement and enjoyment, while also streamlining operations. Crucially, this doesn't always require substantial upfront investment or outsourcing.

Although this OECD report primarily focused on the broader tourism sector, its lessons are highly relevant to the experience economy of 2022. One significant innovation and 'knowledge-based asset' revolutionising the sector is the development of cloud-hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms.

Audience Engagement Platforms: A Solution

From a skills perspective, platforms like n-gage.io are simple and quick to install, and easy to operate audience engagement solutions. This ease of use is critical in environments where personnel often manage multiple responsibilities.

Built for the experience economy, audience engagement platforms can be managed by specialist audience engagement or experience managers (a growing job category) or by existing marketing and communications officers.

Benefits of Smart Platforms

Deploying these smart platforms and their associated apps offers numerous benefits, enabling digital transformation that delivers novel visitor experiences. This increases value for both operators and visitors, helps diversify revenue streams, and can be implemented quickly – a significant advantage for attractions recovering from global lockdowns.

How Audience Engagement Platforms Work

• An audience engagement platform is a cloud-hosted, 'always on' solution for operators.
• It generates an audience experience app (PWA or native) for visitors.
• Operators can load diverse content and information, which can be pushed to users.
• Content can be unlocked or activated via beacon technology or object recognition, triggered by a smartphone's camera or Bluetooth.

Built-in tools monitor dwell time and engagement, providing feedback and behaviour tracking crucial for creating personalised audience experiences. These platforms also deliver enriched and deeper learning experiences in engaging ways, fostering lasting memories and converting visitors into loyal fans.

The Future of Visitor Experiences

While digital tools will never entirely replace the physical attraction, their combination can provide the ultimate visitor experience. The mechanisms, channels, and technologies for engaging visitors throughout their journey (pre, during, and post-visit) are as vital as the content that initially draws them in.

Equally important are the digital skills to gather and interpret information, then create the means to transform engagement into value-driven sustainability.