How can technology support tourism businesses?

As a result of the current global pandemic, tourism organisations have been forced to review their business models and adapt their ways of working. Businesses - looking to recover from the impact of lockdown on their income, and needing to adapt their processes to reflect safety and social distancing guidelines - have had to react swiftly to change how they do things.

We wanted to look at the technology which is out there, and how it can support tourism businesses during the COVID-19 crisis.

Why do we need to do this?

Customers expect businesses to serve their needs differently during the pandemic - there is an expectation and a legal obligation to meet social distancing guidelines, there is an expectation that numbers will be managed and flow around site will be monitored.

Tourists are being encouraged to think, plan and book ahead. This means that they will be researching their days out and planning their itineraries in advance.

As people’s behaviour changes when visiting tourist attractions, and the government outlines how businesses should conduct themselves to keep people safe, there is a growing understanding that technology is available to support these needs.

Here are just some of the ways that technology can help you adapt and meet the needs of the new normal:

Look at how your website is performing

Consider updating your website, reflecting on whether the copy or imagery is right for your audience. Look at adding video content, adding more showcases of what’s on offer, adding an ecommerce section, introducing online ticketing for timed visits .

Social Media

Developing new content for social media, starting a podcast, populating YouTube with better video content, focusing on tools you may not typically use like Instagram Stories or Reels, or hosting webinars on Zoom.

App development

Developing an app to support your organisation, which helps with wayfinding around your site, special offers in your retail and catering outlets, exclusive video content or discounted admissions and guided tours is an exciting way to showcase your site, as well as incentivise people with deals that may have a positive impact on your secondary spend.

Online booking, ticketing options and CRM

The majority of tourism attractions will have added online booking onto their website at this point - timed ticket slots have been essential in managing visitor numbers and flow around the site. If this isn’t something you’ve investigated, we’d highly recommend it. Cornish attractions we work have said it has revolutionised their management of visitor numbers, and helped to flatten out the visitor curves making it easier to manage queues and reducing crowds on site.

Having an online booking system also introduces you to the world of relationship management - you are capturing your customer’s details, and seeing their buying behaviour. Now you are able to plan a marketing campaign to build that relationship further and to encourage repeat business.

Audio guides for tours

For cultural organisations, such as museums and galleries, the pandemic will have meant your ability to conduct live tours of your collections has been significantly impacted. Have you been looking at creating audio guides, using headphones and handsets to show of your collection highlights? These can provide a really engaging way of bringing your exhibits to life, and can provide additional revenue if you are charging for their hire.

Using existing apps to showcase your collections

There are many attractions apps already in existence, and you can partner with them to showcase your collections and key points of interest, providing interactive and engaging digital content as people tour around your visitor attraction.

Virtual and augmented reality + 360* videos and live streaming

With visitors planning ahead before a visit, they are making decisions about whether to visit you based on what they can see ahead of time. What tools have you used to make them feel a part of the visitor experience, even before they come? These tools can also be used to replace some of the ‘real-life’ event scheduling that you used to be able to do.

The world’s first Virtual Museum of Modern Art has been announced recently. And in the early stages of the pandemic, many cultural attractions and arts and performance venues pivoted by showing their content online, offering films, tours and talks to compensate for those who were missing their culture kick in real life.

QR Codes

While these have been around for quite some time, they’re proviing useful tools for practical application - such as directing people to your Track and Trace capture forms.

Contactless payment

While many tourism businesses offered card transactions prior to the pandemic, there were still a number of smaller businesses who did not have this ability - and still more who were unable to accept payment online. There’s a host of tools out there suitable for smaller businesses to deal with, with lower costs and more convenient hardware meaning this doesn’t have to be the huge investment you may be worrying about.

Virtual fam trips + virtual events

Businesses who were used to hosting press ‘familiarisation’ trips, or those who offered events to their paying customers as part of their offer, have had to think outside the box on this one. How can they offer a bespoke event which showcases the best of what they have available, without the ability to visit in real life?

The Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions pulled together a really comprehensive list of the different tools out there, including recommendations on suppliers who can help support with using this technology and developing it further for your business.

While it’s aimed at supporting the Scottish tourism industry, it gives useful insights into the type of companies out there who can support you - and many of them work nationwide.

If you’d like to continue this conversation, and see how Roscoe Communications can support you with changing your business model and reviewing how to reach your customers in different ways please get in touch to talk about how we can work together.