The Synergy of Museums

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The Synergy of Museums TourismAudience
Development

• Presentation byChristian WaltlLord Cultural
  Resources
• Amman, Jordan
• 7. April 2009

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Changing roles of museums
Museums should change from being about something
to being for somebody (Stephen E. Weil)
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Changing roles of museums
Object focus
People focus
Curators pre-eminent
Multi-functional teams
Static display
Changing display/programming
Scholarship valued
Learning leisure purpose
Visitor barriers
Participation/engagement
Authoritarian
Dialog
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Why are museums important today?

• Preservation, research interpretation
• Anchors for knowledge generation
• Creativity community development
• Life long learning
• Urban development
• Cultural tourism
• Pleasure enjoyment
• Prestige diplomacy

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The museum as a public space

• The museum as a piazza
• The museum as an idea factory
• The museum as a learning space

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What is audience development?

• Audience development is about
• developing and retaining new audiences
• building a strong relationship with existing
  audiences and engage them
• improving visitor experiences and encourage
  frequent use
• introducing non-attenders to the organisation
• reaching out to special community groups who
  would not normally come to a museum.

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Visitor research is the key to audience
development

• Why do they come (motivation)?
• Where do they come from?
• What are their needs?
• What are their expectations?
• How satisfied were the visitors?
• Who are the non-visitors?

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Audience Pyramid
Attenders
Intenders
Open to persuasion
Resistors
Rejectors
After Morris, Hargreaves, McIntyre, 2005
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A Model of Museum Visiting

• Social interaction
• Doing something worthwhile
• Having the challenge of new experiences
• Having an opportunity to learn
• Participating actively
• Feeling comfortable and at ease with the
  sourroundings

Motivations
Museum Visiting
Global Trends
Predictors
Rising affluence and education levels Ageing
population Cultural diversity Less leisure time
and emphasis on short breaks Information
technology
Personal interest Demographics Values and
beliefs Prior exposure Opportunities Time
Source Hood (1996), Kelly (2001)
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Maslows hierarchy of needs 1954
Motivation drivers
creativity
Self-actualization
3
spiritual
contemplation
10
experience the past
Self-esteem
emotional
nostalgia
aesthetic
Social needs
Interested in learning
intellectual
39
Safety needs
48
entertainment
social
social interaction
Physical needs
After Morris, Hagraeves, McIntyre, 2005
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Museums as key players for cultural tourism
Destination motivator
Destination enhancer
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The Guggenheim MuseumBilbao, Spain

• What makes it so successful?
• The power of an iconic building (Frank Gehry)
• A global brand
• A committed local authority ( great idea)
• An outstanding programme of special exhibitions
• The Facts
• 10 years of operation
• 1 million visits per year
• 90 tourists
• 12.8 ROI
• Major urban regeneration

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The Museum of Islamic ArtDoha, Qatar

• What makes it so brilliant?
• Superb architecture
• Outstanding interior design
• Global positioning
• Location
• Great collection
• Dedicated leadership
• Prime space for learning

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The Bahrain Fort Museum Kingdom of Bahrain

• What makes it so attractive?
• Historical location next to the old Portuguese
  Fort
• Simplistic modern design
• Archeological jewel
• Prime space for research

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The profile of cultural tourists

• Want to explore
• Meaningful personal experience
• Integrated experience
• Motivated by high impact cultural events
• Frequent short trips
• Use the internet to tailor their travel
• High level of educational attainment
• Can be of any age

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How can museums meet the needs of cultural
tourism?

• Offering a unique cultural experience with a
  focus on quality and distinctiveness
• Need to offer information on local culture and
  traditions
• Allow active participation
• Multilevel interpretation multiple languages
• Necessary information on website
• Museum marketing strategy that ties into the
  tourism strategy

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How can the tourism sector meet the needs of
museums?

• Offer PR and marketing opportunities
• Support and facilitate international positioning
• Share data
• Regional card schemes
• Transport schemes
• Distribution of promotional material

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Museum versus tourism

• What are the obstacles?
• For profit / non-profit approach
• Lack of understanding
• Few exchanges of expertise and experiences
• Exchange of data
• Data on tourists not conform with museum visitor
  data
• Museums planning versus tourism planning

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Key challenges

• Balance act between the needs of tourists and the
  needs of the local community
• Communication
• Sufficient operational funding (esp. marketing)
• Product enhancement
• Sustainability

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How can the 2 sectors work together?

• Regular exchange of information and expertise
• Joint working groups for visitor/tourist research
• Close collaboration in marketing
  (destination-level marketing)
• Create in cooperation varied and innovative
  programme packages
• Cultural clusters

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Audience development as a tool for a tourism
development strategy

• Assess current practice
• Identify barriers to collaboration
• Identify visitors and geographical distribution
• Review visitors needs
• Assess potential for audience development
  (resources skills)
• Set objectives
• Market segmentation

• Establish target audiences
• Set an action plan for each target audience
• Support staff with training
• Internships placements
• Work with partners
• Proper marketing
• Evaluate, review and improve tourism product
  regularly

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Conclusion

• Museums audience development and tourism
  development have the same goals
• Museums audience development initiatives can
  work as a tool for tourism development
• It is about tailoring the offered services to the
  needs of the traveler/visitor
• It is about offering a high quality product
• It is a shared responsibility that works best
  with an integrated and collaborative approach

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The new Bilbao Effect? in the 21st Century
King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge Culture,
Saudi Arabia
THANK YOU!