This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is among the heritage attractions Snow is working with


“HOW ARE OPERATORS GOING TO WORK WITH THE ASIAN MARKETPLACE IN THE NEXT 30 YEARS? WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE’RE READY FOR THE RUSH WHEN IT COMES”


looking forward to taking her to museums. Hopefully they’ll all be child-friendly by the time we get there.


What can heritage operators do better? They don’t do much badly. There’s still a tendency for a ‘don’t touch, don’t shout’ atmosphere, which can be diffi cult for young people and kids. I like taking my nephews to places and they want to run around and make noise – that’s easier on a battlefi eld than it is in an art gallery. One thing operators do need to improve


is their new media strategy, such as build- ing up their Facebook and Twitter profi le. People aren’t doing that nearly as much as they should be at the moment.


What sparked your interest in apps? Tablet computers are the future. People love them and apps are very easy to use on tablets. It’s an exciting way of taking information and delivering it directly to an audience. With an app, I’m talking directly to the person who bought it – it’s just between me and them; it’s almost a per- sonal relationship. Also, apps are fl exible. Once a book’s been written, there’s nothing you can do about the inevitable errors. With an app, you can just amend, adapt and update as new information becomes available.


AM 3 2012 ©cybertrek 2012


What feedback have you had about your app? The timelineww2.com app has been widely reviewed and has an average rating on iTunes of fi ve stars. We’ve sold many thousands and hope


that schools start to adopt them. We have plans to release a few more apps in the autumn. I’ll be revealing more at VAC.


How can heritage-based attractions use new media? Too many heritage attractions simply put information about the ticket price and opening hours on their website. That’s just turgid. You need to create an unusual, funky vibe. If you operate a castle, put incredible facts about your past up each day to keep people interested. Tell them about the ghosts and other horrible history- type facts. Be brazen about things that will bring people to the attraction and the web- site. Use clues, quizzes, and treasure hunts to keep them logging on. Create buzz on the internet – very few operators do that. The Imperial War Museum is doing really


well now. People submit photos online of their ancestors who fought in the wars and they’re being made into an online exhibi- tion. Many visitor attractions could do this. And once you’ve done something, plug it aggressively so that people know about it.


Portsmouth UK’s Historic Dockyard’s Action Stations Helicopter experience


What do you want to learn at VAC? I’m interested to fi nd out how operators are going to work with the Asian marketplace in the next 30 years. What plans are there to make our sites accessible to the poten- tially vast audience who want to come and see European castles, Tudor stately homes and the Crown Jewels? We need to make sure we’re ready for


the rush when it comes, which I’ve no doubt it will. ●


ABOUT VAC


The Annual National Conference of Visitor Attractions takes place on 11 October 2012 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, UK. To book, go to www.vac2012.co.uk


Read Attractions Management online attractionsmanagement.com/digital 43


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