Developing and Managing Visitor Attractions

Classifying and Categorising Visitor Attractions

INTRODUCTION:

Attractions have a vital role to play in the travel and tourism industry. For the majority of tourists, the attractions at a destination are the reason for visiting. Attractions are therefore often used to market the destination, and when they are of international significance, such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, they are used as icons to promote the image of the destination to certain tourism markets. Tourist attractions are therefore the focus for both day and stay visitors and without a range of good quality visitor attractions, many tourist destinations would struggle to survive. This lesson will focus on classifying and categorising the various types of visitor attractions available in Scotland.

Objectives of this lesson:

Identify the various types of visitor attractions available to visitors in Scotland
Introduce students to relevant research sources suitable for studying the topic
Explain the conservation and preservation role of certain types of visitor attractions
Identify the types of visitors in terms of market segments and types of usage of the attractions

1. Attraction defined:

Attractions are without a doubt the most important elements in the tourism destination product. In fact they are what motivates a tourist to visit the destination.

Defining this sector of the tourism industry is difficult due to its complexity, and there is no specifically accepted definition that can be applied to all visitor attractions, due to the wide variation in types. However the British Tourist Authority attempts to define ‘the attraction’ in the Travel and Tourism Analyst (2000)

‘The attraction must be permanently established excursion destination, a primary purpose of which is to allow public access for entertainment, interest, and education, rather than being primarily a retail outlet, or a venue for sports, film, or theatrical performances. It must be open to the public without prior booking, and should be capable of attracting day visitors or tourists’.

With the ever-increasing number of retail outlets and sporting facilities classing themselves as visitor attractions, i.e. House of Bruar and Baxters Highland Village - http://www.baxters.com/highlandvillage/ some may argue with the relevance of this definition. For example ASVA the professional Association for Scottish Visitor Attractions have a specific category for retail outlets (Woollen Mills, Retail and Factory Outlets) as well as for sporting and leisure facilities (Sports and Leisure Centres). Middleton also proposes that there are “ten main types of managed attractions open to the public” (2001, p353). Therefore it could be argued that the BTA definition is far too restrictive and out of date for contemporary tourism.

Walsh-Heron and Steven (1990) gives a far broader definition, allowing for attractions like the Millennium Dome, which was a temporary structure but never the less could only be classed as a visitor attraction. This definition is:

“A visitor attraction is a feature in an area that is a place, venue, or focus of activities and does the following things.

Sets out to attract visitors/day visitors from resident or tourist populations, and is managed accordingly.
Provides a fun and pleasurable experience and an enjoyable way for customers to spend their leisure time.
Is developed to realize this potential.
Is managed as an attraction, providing satisfaction to its customers.
Provides an appropriate level of facilities and services to meet and cater to the demands, needs and interests of its visitors.
May or may not charge an admission for entry”.

(sourced in: Swarbrooke, J (2002) The Development and Management of Visitor Attractions, 2^nd ed. Oxford, Butterworth-Heinemann, p4)

Visit Scotland has it's own particular categories for attractions, you can view them on http://www.scotexchange.net/KnowYourMarket/PerfDisplayVAGraph.asp?Period=20012

Activity 1 - Defining ‘the attraction’

For this activity I would like you to consider the different definitions for ‘the attraction’ and also the categories identified by the different tourism organisations, discuss with your group the problems there are with defining ‘attractions’. Finally write down your own definition and post it onto the discussion board, giving your reasons why you feel it is appropriate, also say why ‘getting a definition correct’ matters.

2. Managed Visitor Attractions

A visitor attraction can range from a simple natural feature like a waterfall on a hillside to a theme park like Disney World. For the purpose of this lesson we will concentrate on examining and categorising managed visitor attractions “that are controlled and managed for their own sake and for the enjoyment, entertainment and education of the visiting public” (Middleton, V (2001,p352).

Typology of Visitor Attractions:

Typology is a useful tool that helps with the understanding and complexity of this subject, however it is important to recognise that there can be overlaps in all the categories identified. Section Heading Goes Here

Visitor attractions can safely be split into four main categories:

Natural attractions (mountains, forests, coastline, lakes / waterways, landscape features and native wildlife).
Man-made attractions, but not originally designed primarily to attract visitors (historic houses, castles, palaces, churches).
Man-made and purpose built to attract tourists (theme parks, museums, heritage centres, sports facilities, family entertainment centres, cinemas, cultural attractions, animal parks, shopping centres).
Special Events (Edinburgh Festival, Expo, Olympic games, World Cup).

These four categories can all be broken down into subgroups as shown above within the brackets.

Activity 2 - Examples of different types of attractions

For this activity I would like you to give two examples of attractions for each of the categories. Post them onto the WebCt Discussion Board.

1. Natural attractions i.e. Ben Nevis

2. Man-made attractions, but not originally designed primarily to attract visitors. i.e. Stirling Castle

3. Man-made and purpose built to attract tourists. i.e. Dynamic Earth

4. Special Events i.e. Edinburgh Military Tattoo

The first three categories being permanent attractions, on the other hand Special Events are classed as temporary attractions.

With the first two categories tourism can be seen as a problem. The reason for this is due to the negative impacts that tourism on ‘mass’ can bring to ‘at risk’ environments, whether they are natural or built. Therefore the emphasis for these types of attractions is on ‘visitor management’, whereas the other two types of attractions normally aim to maximise the visitor numbers and the economic impact especially if they are owned and run by the private sector.

The ownership and funding of the attraction has the largest influence on the remit and aims of the attraction, and will depend on whether it operates in the private, public or voluntary sector. As was said, if the attraction is owned by the private sector the emphasis is normally on economic gain, whereas when the attraction is owned by the public sector the aims of the organisation can be considerably different. Generally speaking the main aims of the three different sectors are as follows:

i. Private sector – profit maximisation, returns on investment, business expansion (e.g. a large theme park or a multiplex cinema)

ii. Public sector – provision of a facility for tourists as well as local residents, economic development, job creation, social inclusion (e.g. a local museum or a leisure centre)

iii. Voluntary sector – furthering a “good cause” (e.g. the National Trust for Scotland conserving a stately home, or a wildlife trust managing a fragile area.

However, some attractions do not fit conveniently into just one of the above categories. For example, a voluntary organisation such as the National Trust for Scotland may have conservation and preservation of heritage as its main objective, but still has to make money from paying visitors. Equally, many public operations, such as museums, are coming under more and more pressure from government to earn revenue from paying visitors, as opposed to relying on funding from the public sector.

Throughout this lesson we will examine the different types of visitor attractions, using examples from Scotland and worldwide. You will learn to appreciate that different attractions will have different remits, and will appeal to different market segments.

3. Natural Attractions:

According to Tourism and the Environment ‘over 80% of visitors say that the environment is what they like the most about Scotland - it is undoubtedly one of the most important resources to the Scottish tourism industry.’ Forum - sourced in: http://www.scotexchange.net/keyhighlights/keyhighlight.asp?updateid=287

Scotland has an abundance of natural attractions that are being utilised by local residents, day- trippers and overnight visitors. Ownership of these natural attractions in Scotland is in the main held by large landowners who control the utilisation of the landscape features and native wildlife. However Scottish Natural Heritage has a large say in how land is utilised. SNH’s remit ‘is to work with Scotland's people to care for our natural heritage’. The National Trust for Scotland also owns a number of important natural, as well built, attractions in Scotland.

It is early days yet to see the impact that National Parks will make to Scotland’s tourism industry. Some theorists consider the parks will aid sustainability, allowing growth with protection. However there is another school of thought that says past experience of national parks has led to the overuse of these natural areas. The prime example given is the Lake District National Park in the north west of England, where there has been major erosion problems.

The National Trust for Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage have, up until now, played the major roles in the conservation and preservation of the natural environments of Scotland. The latest initiative, which has gone through the legislative process quite recently, is the first National Park for Scotland. This should see major changes in access and use of land in Scotland.

Despite the fact that ten national parks have been set aside for public use in England and Wales over the last forty years, it was only in 2000 that the National Parks Scotland Act came into being with Loch Lomond and the Trossachs (see http://www.btinternet.com/~alireid1/) being the first area to be set aside as the first national park in Scotland. This delay is surprising considering the fact that the Scotsman John Muir is considered to be the ‘father’ of USA national parks and helped establish Yosemite National Park, over a hundred years ago in 1890.

Activity 3 - Aims and objectives of attractions

For this activity I would like you to discuss with your group on WebCt Discussion Board, the differences between the aims and objectives of an organisation like Scottish Natural Heritage and a landowner who uses his land for leisure and tourism activities.

I would then like the student whose surname is nearest the end of the alphabet to summarise the discussion and send the summary to your tutor by email before next week.

Everyone is expected to contribute to the discussion.

4. Man-made attractions:

The economic impact of visitor attractions to Scotland is considerable, with a total number of 7,749,035 visitors to attractions in the first six months of 2001. A large number of these people visit attractions that were not originally built or even considered as visitor attractions in the past. For example historic houses, castles and churches appeal to the modern day tourist but were built to live and worship in.

Because of the positive impacts that visitors to attractions make to the economy, successive governments have recognised the benefits from the development and management of Scotland’s historic man made resources. Historic Scotland is the official body responsible for a large number of publicly owned historic sites, buildings and monuments as well as having considerable say over how our historic buildings in the private sector are restored and managed. On the other hand The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) is an organisation representing people, from the general public, who are concerned with the preservation of some important natural and built heritage sites. The NTS was formed in 1931, long before governments considered it necessary to fund conservation and preservation of the natural and built heritage.

Over and above Historic Scotland and the NTS there are a number of other organisations such as the Scottish Museum Council who are involved in preserving some specific historical buildings and sites, i.e. The Cromarty Courthouse, as well as museum collections.

Activity 4 - Conservation and Preservation Organisations

For this exercise I would like you to all find one website each of an organisation involved in the conservation or preservation of Scotland’s natural or built heritage sites. Post your chosen websites onto the WebCt Discussion Board and could the person whose surname is fourth from the beginning of the alphabet, please collate all these web addresses and send them to your tutor before next week.

Everyone is expected to contribute one address each, try and avoid doubling up the web addresses, to ensure everyone gets the maximum benefit from this exercise

5. Man-made and purpose built attractions:

I suppose this is the category that we all think of as real visitor attractions. These attractions are purpose built especially for the visiting public, some famous examples being theme parks Alton Towers (on the right) and the most famous of them all of course Disney World in Florida. These attractions are built with the aim of attracting the maximum number of people possible. This is in contrast to the aims of some of the public sector and voluntary organisations that are more concerned with the conservation and preservation of the site – see http://www.nts.org.uk/conserv_frmset.htm and http://www.snh.org.uk/about/ab-frame.htm

6. Special Events:

Finally we will examine the last category of attractions, special events.

Special events can have different aims. For example they can be used to re-image a place or it can be used as an attraction in itself.

For example Edinburgh’s Festival is a definite ‘attraction’, though it may only be temporary it is a permanent fixture, like Rio’s Mardi Grad. Some special events may be one offs i.e. Glasgow’s Garden Festival was used to improve Glasgow’s image in order to attract more business and leisure visitors to the city. Glasgow very successfully continued to use special events to build a positive image of the city long after the Garden Festival with events such as City of Culture. Events can also be used to promote cultural and national activities i.e. The Edinburgh Military Tattoo is used to gain support from the public for the Scottish Military Regiments, again an image-building tool. Other events are used simply to attract people to the area or country, i.e. the Mardi Gras festival is now celebrated in a large number of cities, especially in South America and the USA.

Re-enactments as events

Re-enactments are a method of bringing historical events to life and are being used more and more as events. For example Historic Scotland has a programme of re-enactments taking place throughout the tourist season. These re-enactment events are attractions in themselves and people go to built attractions, where the original historical event occurred, just to see these re-enactments take place.

The re-enactment concept can also be taken even further with whole historic settlements being recreated and re-enacted, as near to the original version as possible. Good examples of these types of visitor attractions are Beamish, in the north east of England, Williamsburg and Jamestown in Virginia in the USA.

In Williamsburg and Jamestown people live and work as if it was the 18^th century.

Re-enactment is also a very useful tool in interpretation and we will go into detail about that topic later on in the course.

Activity 5 - Events

For this activity I would like you all to give me an example of a Special Event and a Re-enactment event that is held in your area or in Scotland. Post your example onto the discussion board. The following websites may help you with this activity.

The National Trust for Scotland

Historic Scotland

Summary

We have examined the various types of visitor attractions, and it is important when researching into visitor attractions that students understand that attractions can fit into a number of different categories, and sometimes there can be an overlap. Each category of attraction suits different market segments needs; these needs will be explored in the next section of the course.

Culzean Castle

Scran No. 000-000-258-662-C

Kitchen Assistanct at Baxter’s Food Factory

Scran No. 000-000-468-460-C

‘National Wallace Monument’

Scran No. 000-000-028-956-C

‘Burrell Museum’

Scran No. 000-000-031-532-C

‘Bothwell Castle’

Scran No. 000-000-004-118-C

‘Dawn fishing on Loch Lomond’

Scran No. 000-000-113-398-C

‘Ben Lomond’

Scran No. 000-000-258-604-C

‘Yosemite Falls, California’

Scran No. 000-000-113-497-R

Skara Brae (House 1) in Orkney

Scran No 00-000-004-474-C

http://www.alton-towers.co.uk/nonshocked/index_ie.htm

Coca Cola Rid, Glasgow Garden Festival 1988

Scran No. 000-000-115-684-C

All the pipe bands at the

The Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Scran No. 000-000-134-497-C

Edinburgh Military Tattoo at

Edinburgh Castle

Scran No. 000-000-057-518-C

A historic Re-enactment

Period costume for the staff or actors gives

a sense of place and time

Immigrants’ settlement in Jamestown in Virginia

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