The lifting of lockdowns and reopening of theme parks, zoos, museums and visitor attractions overall has been welcomed, as the world begins navigating how to live in the post COVID-19 world. However, along with reopening has come social distancing, strict cleaning and hygiene practices, and a dramatically minimised number of visitors being allowed in the same space at once. Read on to learn more about how attractions can maximise secondary revenue streams with new offerings, opportunities and the use of technology.
New offerings
One way of diversifying revenue streams is to focus on what’s new, and how that can be monetised in a way that doesn’t detract from your brand and values. One idea is to sell your own branded PPE to guests (perhaps supporting a local business in the process). Another is to create special socially distanced events and activities that can be enjoyed safely during the visit. Parks could even offer VIP packages where guests who pay a little extra can have ‘backstage access’ to an element of the attraction that most may not be able to see.
Incentivising safety
It’s not like most people need any more reasons to socially distance and stay safe regarding COVID-19, but offering guests a tangible and easy win may also help attractions who are suffering from limited visitor numbers.
For instance, by using Data Duopoly’s targeted notification feature guests can be offered discounts at the cafe if they book a non-peak slot to visit the attraction at a quieter time. This will help smooth bookings at the cafe, improve the guest experience and compensate the loss of cafe revenue in peak times due to social distancing requirements.
This technology could also be generalised to controlling how many guests are in different areas of an attraction at once, by offering discounts at the shop if they leave a certain coaster queue until the afternoon instead of jumping in as soon as they arrive.
Developing local relationships
While some of the larger parks already have this covered, if you don’t have a local membership scheme it may be time to invest. With 2020 being the year of the ‘staycation’ and holidaying locally, offering locals a special discount or membership could be a valuable way of ensuring they visit regularly without worrying about the cost. While offering discounts may not feel like the best way to boost revenue, don’t forget that every extra visit brings with it a new opportunity to sell food, drinks, merchandise and upgrades. Perhaps instead of a local membership scheme, attractions could have a ‘locals day’ every month where locals receive a discount voucher to spend on-site when they visit.
Forming relationships with other local attractions can also help, for instance by offering complimentary discounts, promotions and combined tickets.
Connecting online
The coronavirus has given us all a huge incentive to get to grips with and become
comfortable with online communication. Being able to interact with your visitors before, during and after a visit will enhance the visitor experience, build brand loyalty and increase your understanding of your guests. All this interaction and data can then be used to offer guests new add on products, eg a branded face mask, and give them reasons for a repeat visit. It’s never been more important to review your online communication strategy.
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