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� IN FOCUS l THEME PARKS & ATTRACTIONS


Cathedrals are being creative with events, such as Durham Cathedral’s Lumiere Light Show.


Who is


Bernard Donoghue, director of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, urges venues to work with ‘unusual suspects’ to widen their appeal. Samantha Mayling reports


your Gruffalo? W


hat do The Gruffalo, Ikea, Dippy the Dinosaur and Chinese


artist Ai Weiwei have in common? They’re all partnerships


developed by attractions to increase visitor numbers. Bernard Donoghue (pictured),


director of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva), cited these case studies and others at last month’s Visitor Attractions Conference, at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London. He said: “In order for attractions


to grow their customer base and attract new audiences they need to foster creative partnerships with ‘unusual suspects’.”


Forestry Commission England used the Gruffalo character to attract more families to its sites


48 TravelGBI | November 2018


These included Blenheim Palace commissioning Chinese artist Ai Weiwei to install contemporary sculptures, and Forestry Commission England working with The Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson to attract more families to its sites. The Gruffalo Spotter app,


created by designers Magic Lantern, uses augmented reality


to bring The Gruffalo and other characters from the popular children’s picture book to life. It resulted in a 22% increase


in families visiting Forestry Commission sites in just one year. Donoghue said cathedrals are also being imaginative with events, such as Durham Cathedral’s Lumiere Light Show; Exeter Cathedral’s pop-up cinema in its nave, with furniture provided by Swedish furniture retailer Ikea; Coventry Cathedral’s Festival of Imagineers; a Northern Lights show at York Minster; Tim Peake’s Soyuz capsule on display at Peterborough Cathedral; and plans by Norwich Cathedral to host Dippy the Dinosaur in its nave during 2020.


� APPETITE FOR RISK Donoghue asked delegates: “What’s your appetite for risk, or to partner with organisations who are not your ‘usual suspects’? “Partnering with organisations and people who are not like you enables you to tell your stories of your collections, people and places


Partnering with people who are not like you enables you to tell your stories in different, more creative ways


in different, more creative ways – engaging with and inviting people and audiences who don’t cross your threshold.” He asked delegates: “Who is your


Gruffalo?” He said the attractions which


partnered with an ‘unusual suspect’ brought in new visitors, and often an entirely different demographic. These first-time visitors were on


travelgbi.com


©Shutterstock.


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