Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Steady growth curve continues
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- Figure 1: Forecast of trends in visits to UK visitor attractions, 2010-20
- Wildlife attractions, garden and historical properties show biggest five-year growth…
- …but more woe for theme park sector after improvement in 2014
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- Figure 2: Trends in visitor attraction visits in England, by segment, 2010-14
- Edutainment, virtual reality and Beacon technology are key innovations
- Two thirds of adults visit attractions
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- Figure 3: Types of attraction visited in the past 12 months, September 2015
- Overnight tourism is lower-volume but higher-value segment
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- Figure 4: Types of occasion on which attractions have been visited in the past 12 months, September 2015
- One in four visitors are Attraction Enthusiasts
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- Figure 5: How often attractions have been visited in the past 12 months, September 2015
- Older visitors use membership
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- Figure 6: Visitor attraction behaviour, September 2015
- Scope for developing late nights and sleepovers
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- Figure 7: Preferences and interests when visiting historical and cultural attractions, September 2015
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- New technology offers opportunities to engage people at a deeper level, throughout the whole ‘visitor journey’
- The facts
- The implications
- Cultural and historical attractions can position themselves as deliverers of learning
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- UK attraction market continues to see steady growth
- Inbound visitor growth trend may be coming to a halt
- Overseas revival could threaten domestic tourism market
- UK macroeconomic factors look positive for core domestic day trips
- Wildlife/nature attractions have seen highest five-year growth
- Theme park recovery disrupted by Alton Towers crash
- Risk of two-tier museum and galleries sector
- New funding models
Market Size and Forecast
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- Attractions market shows steady growth overall
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- Figure 8: Trends in visits to UK visitor attractions, 2010-20
- Forecast
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- Figure 9: Forecast of trends in visits to UK visitor attractions, 2010-20
Segment Performance
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- Domestic visitors driving paid attraction growth
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- Figure 10: Trends in visits* to UK visitor attractions, by country, 2010-14
- Scotland attractions
- Wales attractions
- Northern Ireland attractions
- Attraction types – Overall
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- Figure 11: Trends in visitor attractions in England, by segment*, 2010-14
- Museums and galleries
- Historic properties
- Theme parks
Market Background
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- Domestic day trip market steady
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- Figure 12: Volume of GB leisure days out*, 2011-14
- Domestic tourism bounces back after poor 2014
- Overseas travel revival
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- Figure 13: Domestic vs overseas holiday trips taken, 2010-14
- Inbound holiday growth begins to stall
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- Figure 14: Inbound holiday trips taken, 2010-14
- Inbound traffic key for London attractions
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- Figure 15: Inbound holiday visits to the UK, by region, 2013 and 2014
- Communicating in the digital age
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- Figure 16: Percentage of visitor attractions surveyed in England that offer digital communications (apart from a main website), 2012-14
- Attractions must prepare for warmer, wetter UK
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- Figure 17: UK annual sunshine and rainfall, 2010-14
- English Heritage adopts more commercial approach
- Spending Review protects national museums but cuts threaten regional sector
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- National Trust sees 4% rise in visits in 2014
- Merlin revenues fall after accident but new London attraction launched
- Record attendance boosts Tate numbers 13% in 2014
- Stonehenge visits up 8% in 2014 with new discovery set to boost numbers further
- British Museum and Tower of London remain top free and paid attractions
- Edutainment driving new launches in family market
- Virtual Reality opening up new possibilities
- Virtual tours extending reach of cultural brands
- Internet of things improving visitor experience
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Re-invention of the seaside attraction
- Kids in charge
- Total immersion
- Virtual reality – Theme parks
- Virtual reality – Museums
- Virtual tours
- The internet of things
Market Share
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- Leading organisations
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- Figure 18: Leading attraction operators and organisations, by visitor numbers, 2013 and 2014
- National Trust
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- Figure 19: Top 10 National Trust attractions, by visitor numbers, 2014 and 2015
- Merlin
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- Figure 20: Visitor numbers for Merlin-operated UK theme parks, 2010-14
- Top paid attractions in England
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- Figure 21: Top 10 paid-for-entry attractions in England, by visitor numbers, 2013 and 2014
- Top free attractions in England
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- Figure 22: Top 10 free visitor attractions in England, by visitor numbers, 2013 and 2014
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Overnight tourists are lower-volume but higher-spend visitors
- Attraction Enthusiasts have AB and female bias
- Membership skewed towards older affluent empty nesters
- App users have high engagement levels
- Event-driven culture
- Interest in non-standard hours visits
Attractions Visited
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- Figure 23: Types of attraction visited in the past 12 months, September 2015
- Attractions appeal to wide socio-economic range
- Engaging with an ageing society
- Galleries less successful in attracting families
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Occasions for Visiting Attractions
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- Figure 24: Types of occasion on which attractions have been visited in the past 12 months, September 2015
- Overnight visitors are key spending group
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Frequency of Visiting Attractions
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- Figure 25: How often attractions have been visited in the past 12 months, September 2015
- Profiling the Attraction Enthusiasts
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- Figure 26: Demographic profile of Attraction Enthusiasts versus all visitors, September 2015
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- Figure 27: Frequency of visiting attractions, by attractions visited in the past 12 months, September 2015
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Visitor Attraction Behaviour
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- Secondary spend
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- Figure 28: Attraction visitor behaviour, September 2015
- Membership profile
- Where members visit
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- Figure 29: Attractions visited in the past 12 months by those who have used a membership to visit, September 2015
- Membership behaviour
- ABC1 families biggest users of discount offers
- Queue jumpers
- App users show high levels of engagement
Historical and Cultural Attractions – Preferences and Interests
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- Passion for learning
- Fear of missing out
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- Figure 30: Preferences and interests when visiting historical and cultural attractions, September 2015
- Interpretation – Getting the right balance
- High demand for off-peak, late-night and sleepover visits
- Themed events
- Singles potential
- TV/film tie-ins appeal to three in 10 visitors
Appendix
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- Data sources
- Abbreviations
- Market size and forecast
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- Figure 31: Best- and worst-case forecast for the number of visits to UK visitor attractions, 2015-20
- Forecast methodology
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