Convious, a leading eCommerce platform for the leisure industry, recently hosted How to cope with the new economic situation as an attraction operator, a webinar exploring the latest data on consumer spending and financial habits relating to the attractions sector, led by two industry experts.
Andy Povey is Convious’ UK and Ireland managing director, beginning his attractions career in the early 1990s as a ride operator at Chessington World of Adventures. He stayed with The Tussaud’s Group (now Merlin Entertainments) for another 18 years, working in a range of operational duties at Rock Circus, Madame Tussauds, and central support, where he managed the group’s ticketing systems.
Following Merlin, Povey spent almost a decade with Gateway Ticketing Systems supervising their UK operation before joining the Convious team. Venues benefitting from Convious’ systems include Drayton Manor, Movie Park, Taunus Therme, and Merlin Entertainments.
For the session, Povey was joined by market research specialists Decision House, which provides valuable data and knowledge on the last twelve months, and signals which will help attractions to price appropriately in the near future.
The company’s founder Steve Mills is an MRS award winner with over 15 years of expertise supporting customers’ decision-making in the culture, tourism and leisure sectors. Mills has counselled scores of organisations, assisting them in delivering to existing consumers or developing potential markets or audiences.
The firm offers a wide range of primary research methodologies, frequently supplemented by a thorough examination of what is currently accessible, whether in the public domain or through internal studies and data.
Find the answers
Key questions explored include:
- What is the change in customer intention to visit specific attraction types?
- What is the consumer sentiment regarding visiting attractions now and in the near future?
- What does the UK consumer confidence barometer tell us?
- How do consumers feel about their household financial situation, and do they expect this to improve?
- How has this financial situation developed over the last year?
- How has intention changed specifically in relation to free and paid attractions such as museums?
- How are personal financial situations affecting season pass/membership holders?
Five key takeaways
Convious has identified five key areas in which attractions can ensure that they are an attractive proposition for shrinking disposable incomes, which are explored in the webinar:
- Communicate your offerings: convey the value
- Create VIP events: create FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)
- Offering subscriptions: improve your value score
- Unbundle: giving the diversity of choice
- Making the most of new trends: think local
Watch now
Povey detailed to attendees how each of these strategies can be utilised and some of the benefits derived from implementing these actions, which can be applied to a wide spectrum of attractions including amusement parks, zoos, heritage sites and museums.
The Convious director said: “Monitor what you’re going. Look at what’s happening to your online conversion rate, your post-visit feedback scores, and look at what people are saying about you. If you’re doing something right, do more of it and more importantly if you’re doing something wrong, change it. Don’t be scared of trying things and be flexible… The only constant is change.”
The How to cope with the new economic situation as an attraction operator session can now be watched on demand for free. You can also download Covnious’ free document compiling everything you need to know from the webinar here.
