Heritage tourism boosts UK economy

Broadway Tower - Cotswolds

Heritage-based tourism is now worth £26.4bn to the UK economy - £5.8bn higher than the previous estimate published in 2010 according to new research released by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

 

The new report by Oxford Economics also suggests that heritage is playing an increasingly important part in the choices of Britons who decide to stay in the UK for their holiday – over a quarter of all UK holiday activities undertaken by UK residents now involve heritage -  the ‘heritage staycation’

 

HLF published its first report on heritage tourism, Investing in Success, by Oxford Economics, in 2010, based on data from 2007. The report analysed the impact of the heritage-based visitor economy and established that the sector made an even bigger contribution to UK GDP than the advertising, car manufacturing or film industries. Those findings clearly highlighted the importance of heritage tourism and its ability to help the UK economy.

 

The new report drawing on the latest visitor statistics from 2011, demonstrates the power of heritage in attracting visitors even more clearly.

 

The higher figure of £26.4bn is explained by a number of factors:

• An overall increase in visits: Between 2007 and 2011 there was a rise of 13% in both international visits to the UK for holidays and the number of overnight holiday stays in the UK made by UK residents. Domestic day trips (over the longer period 2005-11) rose by 47%
• People were spending more on these trips: International visitors on holiday were spending 28% more per visit in 2011 than in 2007, and UK residents on holiday were spending 7% more
• Heritage has become more important in people’s holiday choices.

The most recent survey data provides a more accurate picture of what activities people undertake whilst on holiday.

 

For UK residents on holiday in the UK, 28% of the total activities they undertook were to a heritage site or attraction. Previous survey work put this question in a slightly different way, by asking what activities people planned to undertake, so the latest research gives us a better indication of the importance of heritage

 

The report is available here  - Economic impact of the UK heritage tourism economy 2013 (PDF, 955KB)(opens in new window) by Kareen El Beyroutyand Andrew Tessler - Oxford Economics

 

Two kinds of heritage - Bulleid Pacific and new Morgan
Three Wheeler at the Severn Valley Railway

 

New award for Attract client

Canterbury for Culture Award

Attract client, the Canterbury Westgate Towers has won the inaugural Canterbury for Cultural Landscape Award, an award given to a cultural organisation, group or individual making a significant positive impact to Canterbury's environment, architecture or public space.

Interpretation initiatives include turning the Westgate Gaoler's diary into wallpaper which has been put in the gents - Charles Lambie, Westgate Towers' custodian and operator is now worried that visitors will stay seated on the Thomas Crapper toilets for too long reading the news from 1798!
The official opening is the end of July with the next few weeks spent finalizing the opening offer. However from July 1st accompanied tours and familiarization visits through the newly connected 1830 Gaol and café space are on offer.

It's believed that Westgate Towers is the first scheduled ancient monument to reopen under a public /private initiative under the current climate of public spending cuts.

Dunstan, the Westgate Towers' mascot

Somewhere worth leaving home for





Tourism is a key sector of the economy and for private and public sector operators, developers and investors it offers both opportunities and challenges.

New developments require careful market research and considered strategic planning. The viability of new leisure and tourism projects must be rigorously tested and there has to be a detailed appreciation of market conditions and of the planning and development contexts for all development. The constant theme that characterises the sector is the need to attract customers, maximise repeat visits and purchases and maintain or improve competitive positions.

Unfortunately, strategic planning for visitor attractions often has rather disjointed beginnings and issues of “secondary” importance, such as access, buildings, design and detailed planning frequently dominate discussion. However, the fundamental questions to be addressed are: “How will this visitor attraction work as a consumer proposition?” and “How can it be branded for success?”

Creating a visitor attraction that is sufficiently strong, differentiated and marketable is, in the long term, even more important than the key “front-end” questions of funding, investors and capital needs. It is not investors and public funding authorities who sustain a profitable operation but consumers. The return on investment depends ultimately not on buildings, but on individuals, seeking a visitor attraction experience.

A visitor attraction can be defined as “somewhere worth leaving home for”, and this is as relevant to a single museum or cathedral as it is to a tourist area or town. People make visitor attractions – the people who conceive them, the people who develop them, the people who manage them, but above all the people who visit.

In a successful attraction, the product on offer is the experience itself. Committing time to that experience must be rewarding for the individual; spending money on that experience must be worthwhile. In the experience economy, visitor attractions must constantly "reinvent" themselves to encourage repeat visits and survive. This economy of experience is about quality, service and choice – it is not about size. The successful product is about expectations, experiences and memories for individual consumers.

Ultimately, it is people that make visitor attractions successful, not buildings and infrastructure. Visitor attraction developers, owners and managers must always hold the consumer proposition and the visitor attraction brand firmly in mind when undertaking strategic planning.

Networking for Visitor Attractions - Group on LinkedIn

Visitor attractions have many common themes. problems and opportunities whether they are large or small, museums, theme parks, castles or heritage centres. The Visitor Attractions Group is a group for operators and suppliers of goods and services to share ideas, experiences and advice - joining as a LinkedIn member lets you share in discussions, networking and job opportunities.

Developing church trails - some notes and initial ideas

Church Trails

Background

Britain is home to a wealth of ecclesiastical buildings rich in history and full of beauty and trails can help vistors and tourists to discover and explore some of the exciting and fascinating parish churches in rural areas.

Raising the profile of churches and chapels in rural areas benefits the economy of the villages in which they are located whilst helping those buildings to become more sustainable.

Church Tourism Programmes offer tourists and visitors the opportunity to travel between churches and to learn about and enjoy their history, culture and heritage.

A variety of trails of different length and demand is recommended so that visitors can plan a route suitable for the fit and active, children and the less active.

Cycle trails should be planned to avoid conflict between cyclists and walkers and cycle security points should be provided, in addition to car parking where practical.

Trails particularly accessible (but not exclusive) for those with special needs should be provided and highlighted although access for all wherever possible is a priority

The following represents a few examples of how to approach the development of a church trail but is not intended to be an exhaustive list.

In order to improve engagement and inclusivity interpretation should place the churches, their architecture, artefacts, memorials etc into their historical and cultural context – crossing cultures, crossing time etc.

Rural Church Trail Website

A website can provide information on the trail themes and stories, locations and routs and downloadable resources. Access to resources such as children's trail leaflets, interpretative maps and events programmes can also be made available

Church based circular walks and heritage trails

Walking activities can be developed themed for different audiences including children and families, curious minds based trails, nature trails and churchyard explorers.

Walking and Cycling trails

Short and long routes can link two or more churches using footpaths and cycle routes. Each trail would be designed to be walked either way and include links to public transport, pubs and restaurants and sites of interest.

Volunteer guided tours of participating churches and churchyards

Churches can offer guided tours at set times led by volunteers during weekend, holiday periods or linked to events.

Events

Themed events linking participating churches such as art festivals, family activities, The Big Draw, religious festivals and saints' days.

Architecture and the built environment

Trails linked to architecture and building conservation. Conservation in action and archaeology projects that can be observed or participated in at participating churches.

God's Acre

Activities linked to exploring churchyards including nature trails, ecological surveys, famous monuments or grave stone inscription trails linked to local and national history and culture

Listening posts

Listening posts at strategic locations providing real authentic voices of local people telling their stories about the social and cultural importance of the church.

Rubbing plaques

Rubbing plaques at each church and a recording booklet. Collect a rubbing from each church to complete a full set.

Concluding comments

There are many other possible developments within a trail project that can provide activity and interest for the visitor which could include geo-caching, storytelling sessions, coach tours and photographic and art competitions. Particularly, special photo and painting viewpoints may be featured throughout the project.

Other aspects and activities that should be taken into account include:

• Social networking for promoting trails and sites eg Flickr, Facebook etc
• Smart Phone technology – e.g. mobile downloads/apps
• GPS walking technology
• Maps
• View points/Points of interest /Photo opportunities
• Picnic spots
• Waymarkers
• Timed trails

The aim should be to provide an exciting experience which enhances and enriches the visitor experience.

For more information on developing church trails and indeed trails for other buildings with themes please send an email to info@attractmarketing.co.uk with 'Trails' in the subject line

Heritage Attractions Group

See the new sub group - Heritage Attractions - of the LinkedIn Visitor Attractions group at: www.linkedin.com/groupInvitation?groupID=1945560

The Heritage Attractions sub group is for all those involved in running and managing or servicing heritage attractions including museums, castles, historic houses, literary and other heritage themed attractions, preserved railways, industrial archaeological sites etc

Tourism Workshops and Seminars

Attract Marketing offer a range of workshops and seminars tailored to the potential audience and based around the subject of the Development and Marketing of Heritage Tourism Products

The range of workshops/seminars include the following topics:
What is Heritage Tourism?Topic 1: Basic Concepts - Setting the Scene
Topic 2: Audience Development – what is it and who will come?
Topic 3: Interpretation - developing themes and story lines
Topic 4: Access for all - physical and intellectual
Best Practice in Heritage TourismTopic 5: Collections & Conservation Management Plans
Topic 6: Heritage Learning
Topic 7: Feasibility Studies - key elements
Topic 8: Applying the theory - Case Studies
Visitor IssuesTopic 1: Creating an Audience Development Plan
Topic 2: Operating the Heritage Attraction
Topic 3: Creating a Learning and Access Plan
Topic 4: The Marketing Campaign Plan
Case Study based on a visit to a local attraction - Making it betterTopic 5: Analysing the problem - Writing the brief
Topic 6: Developing a new offer
Topic 7: Making it work
Topic 8: Launching the revamped attraction

The clients for this series include a European Union funded workshop for the Estonian Tourist Board where we worked with a local consultant Oliver Loode of Consumetric.
Download the introductory presentation from http://www.attractmarketing.co.uk/Heritage_Tourism_Basic_Concepts_Topic1.pdf for more information.