The importance of Heritage to Tourism understanding the competitive environment

1
The importance of Heritage to Tourism -
understanding the competitive environment

• J John Lennon
• Moffat Centre for
• Travel and Tourism Business Development,
• Glasgow Caledonian University

2
Tourist Activities Undertaken
3
Built Heritage - Sectoral Importance

• Attractions are at the heart of tourism
• 2002 41.4m visits to attractions
• 2002 21.6m were visits to built heritage
  properties
• 2002 50 of visitor paid and free admission was
  to built heritage

4
Built Heritage Sectoral Importance

• Recorded visits do not include visits to
  non-staffed, free heritage sites, trails etc
• Thus significance is even greater than records
  suggest
• Iconic significance evident in marketing and
  advertising imagery of Scotland

5
Natural Heritage - sectoral significance

• Visitor Attitude Survey 2002
• 4 of 5 Top Attributes associated with Scotland
  are environment focussed
• Scenery, Nature, Wildlife, Wilderness
• 95 would recommend Scotland as a wildlife
  destination following visit

6
Natural Heritage - sectoral significance

• Much more difficult to estimate use and
  visitation
• Value is huge in terms of iconic and marketing
  significance
• Antidote to stress / escape / relax / live it
  visit Scotland

7
Operation and Management of these vital visitor
resources

• SNH
• National Park Authorities
• Local Authorities
• National Trust for Scotland
• British Waterways
• Historic Scotland
• etc etc etc

8
THE TRADING ENVIRONMENT

• Foot and Mouth/war/terrorism
• Strength of Sterling/EURO
• Cost of Fuel
• Limited resources (finance, people, knowledge,
  skills)
• Visitor Sophistication
• Nature and Extent of Competition
• The leisure Pound/Euro/Dollar

9
THE COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT

• Leisure Consumer
• Competition any other expenditure possibility for
  the leisure
• Retail and Retail Malls as leisure destinations
• 24 hour opening, free car park, branded food and
  beverage, entertainment and activities, crèche
  and cinema, child focus

10
WHAT KIND OF BUSINESS ARE YOU IN?

• Conservation
• Science
• Education
• Preservation
• Heritage
• Visitor Attraction
• Leisure
• Entertainment

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TOURIST BEHAVIOUR AT UK ATTRACTIONS

• Aspects of Operation Dwell Time
• Attraction 53 minutes
• Retail 9 minutes
• Catering 11 minutes
• Other 6 minutes
• TOTAL 79 minutes

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THE CUSTOMER

• Everyone is a customer for every element of a
  property
• Service to the customer is the imperative that
  drives the organisation
• Differentiate the offer
• Offer a distinctive experience, service and
  product

13
Responding to a competitive environment

• Four Case Studies of Heritage Operations
  responding to competition and increasing market
  share
• Harewood House, Near Leeds
• The Judges Lodging, Powys
• Perthshire Archaeology Week 2003
• Chatsworth House and Gardens, Derbyshire

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Harewood House

• One of the UKs most innovative meeting, fair,
  sales and exhibition venues
• Grounds that are maximised for rental,
  visitation, expenditure and profitability
• Thomas the Tank - most profitable single event
  weekend
• Annual venue for UK Caravan Club Exhibition

15
Harewood Innovations

• Art at Harewood
• Cookery Schools and Festivals of Food and Drink
• Christmas Craft Fair , Dinners and events at
  Harewood
• Harewood Proms
• Upstairs and Downstairs

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The Judges Lodging, Powys

• Animation of a minor heritage property in a
  marginal tourism destination
• Development of a range of narrative
  interpretation, exhibitions, dynamic exhibitions
• Diversity of experience
• Winner Interpret Britain and Local Museum of
  the Year

17
The Judges Lodging, Powys

• Wander through, sit in chairs, history you can
  touch, history in your hands,
• Below stairs, the cells, voices from the past,
• The law and its guests, tragic tales,
• Winter events Halloween, Ghost Tours, Memory
  Cells, Victorian Christmas, Winter indulgence
  dinners

18
Perthshire Archaeological Week

• Animation of archaeology sites
• Week long programme of events
• Building on huge media interest
• 1000 additional visitors
• Significant local usage and discovery of richness
  of sites, content and heritage
• Economic Impact 93,786

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Perthshire Archaeological Week

• Utilisation of curators, education officers and
  interpretation staff to animate properties
• Adding value, creating an experience
• Delivering passion and passing on enthusiasm
• Delivering real economic impact

20
Chatsworth

• Chatsworth Retail and Catering - Sales
  8.5million per annum
• Chatsworth Christmas - extended operation
  performance by 3m
• Chatsworth branding potential just beginning to
  be recognised
• Much more than heritage, landscape and gardens

21
Chatsworth

• 620,000 visitors to house, garden, farmyard,
  playground (March - Dec)
• 20,000 visitors to events
• 500,000 visitors to Park and Woods
• How is the spirit of the place communicated ?
• How to integrate the history, future and current
  visitor experience.

22
Chatsworth

• Dont touch, dont run, dont eat, dont shout,
  dont walk, dont come
• 3 or 4 generations of local visitors have
  memories of paddling in the cascade
• Farmyard and Adventure Playground account for one
  third of paying visitors
• Interpretation, communication, entertainment and
  education

23
Chatsworth

• Behind the scenes in the house and garden, led by
  members of staff explaining their own work
• Ill never complain about paying to look around
  a house again
• Chatsworth - a perfect mix of high culture and
  tasteful populism

24
The Eden Project

• At the Eden Project, a horticulturists
  reputation is damaged if the catering is poor.
• - Tim Smit