Blog - Attractions & museums are struggling to capitalise on opportunities with in destination visitors

Research from Failte Ireland highlights that over 85% of visitors that are already in a destination are looking for things to see and do.

Most local attractions and museums right across Ireland are struggling to capitalise on this opportunity due to a lack of in-house expertise, lack of real live visitor data and the ability to communicate and connect directly with the visitor in their native language. This means missed opportunities for increased visitor engagement, revenue and market share.

Where are attractions & museums going wrong?

• Not embracing digital solutions to connect with potential visitors: Word of mouth will only get you so far in a digital world and many experienced operators continue to rely on this as a promotional tool.
   
• Never ending missed upsell opportunities: large volumes of visitors come to an attraction site for a nominal fee payable at the arrival point.  This creates no future opportunity to upsell or cross sell directly once that visitor passes the pay barrier.
   
• Unknown, one time customers: Many attractions & museums rely on visitors to just arrive at their admission point. Very little is known about where the visitor came from, why they visited and where they are visiting next.
   
• Lack of effective communications around what the experience has to offer: Many sites do not include free guiding and have very little information available for the visitor. What is available is generally in English (and not in the visitors native language) and does little to motive, inspire and keep visitors on that journey for longer.

What can attractions and museums do to capitalise on opportunities with in-destination visitors?

• Target each individual visitor through segmentation and present them with special offers based on their profile, their interests and their location.
   
• Maximise the average rate per person on site as opposed to just focusing on the front door.
   
• Understand your visitors more and their motivations for visiting you in the first place.
   
• Use your customer data to assist with future decision making and build knowledge around each site's customer base.
   
• Focus advertising spend on the right channels and base your plan on actual intelligence around your customer segments.

To find out more about how the Great Visitor Experiences Ireland solutions could help you capitalise on more opportunities with in-destination visitors, contact us here