HOW VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRES NEED TO ADAPT TO FUTURE TRENDS
Written by Ali Uren – Founder and Director of Kiikstart
As visitor expectations and needs change so too does the current visitor information centre service model. In this blog we will look at some of the key trends we are seeing through our extensive re-development experience with regional VIC’s and what this means from a practical perspective.
Ultimately these changing trends will continue to challenge how local government delivers its visitor servicing model and the demand on resourcing levels to ensure future success.
Visitor centres need to be designed to fulfill the role of a regional showcase driving connection and delivering opportunities between the creativity, commercial and community sectors of a place.
Making sense of the trends we are already seeing and will continue to see into the future:
There needs to be a focus on not just information to attract a younger, broader market.
VIC’s need to balance information with being a destination that transcends information to be relevant, drive visitation and increase spend.
Local knowledge is important, but it is only one part of a bigger, strategic picture to be able to successfully challenge the notion that you do not need a VIC when you have GOOGLE.
The style of how Information is communicated will also need to change.
Local government will need to get creative and innovative in how it communicates its information offering into the future to increase visitation across a region.
What is unique about how information is provided through the VIC – what does the team know that I cannot research myself?
To be able to be successful in the future the VIC must clearly create and deliver a distinctive offering in terms of expertise and the various means in which a visitor can engage.
Across not only technology platforms but also in person be it in a bricks and mortar space or at an event or festival with a VIC pop up presence.
VIC’s play a serious role in building the visitor economy.
A VIC is not just about tourism but in fact building and being an active contributor to a region’s overall visitor economy and future growth.
To do this requires the VIC to build high value, strategic collaborations, and relationships with local businesses and not just the usual tourism operators– a new skill set, and mind set for many.
It also requires a change in how VIC’s recruit its people and the processes and systems that need to be designed to develop team capability to the required level.
There is a move away from accommodation bookings in recent years.
As a result, decision makers need to plan for diversifying revenue streams and take the visitors and community on the trip towards transitioning towards bookable product.
VIC’s need to focus where they will have a competitive advantage and be brave enough to move on from old revenue streams such as accommodation where it is unable to compete with Stayz and Air B and B.
Your VIC service model must be relevant and specific to your market/s– not generic.
Remember to have a distinctive offering you cannot be all things to all markets. Really double down on who you want to be servicing better now but also the new, untapped markets that will provide the greatest opportunities for growth.
To do this with impact requires you to have also identified your visitor economy brand – often an extension of your Destination brand.
Quality will be essential from service experience, team skill, product mix and internal and external fittings, signage etc.
As the expectations of visitors increase so too will the quality of the end to end experience needing to be delivered within the VIC.
Decision makers must innovate the service model so that it is able to challenge commonly held perceptions about what you get in a VIC to increase visitation and ultimately the level of spend.
The offering must be interesting and enchanting while also being authentic to a region’s visitor economy brand.
Know your brand before you can develop a creative, impactful visitor experience through your VIC.
The VIC through all its touch points, including technology must tell the region’s story in a consistent style and manner.
A region’s brand is not just communicated through social media and marketing but the staff, regional ambassadors, internal space, retail and experimental mix and industry collaborations to name a few.
Personalisation with a level of co-creation is essential– in person and via technology.
Think choose your own adventure where guests create experiences in consultation with staff and Regional Ambassadors (formally known as Volunteers).
Visitors are wanting a higher degree of personalisation when it comes to curating an in region experience and rightfully expect that the VIC can deliver this.
This is turn requires a re-think of the skills expected from the team and how technology is utilised within the existing servicing model.
Hands on interaction with the region’s characters – meet the maker.
Visitors are becoming increasingly interested in engaging with local characters and having the opportunity to be hands on with product and experiences.
This requires Management to be able to design the meet the maker experiences that can engage visitors, the local community and the visiting family and friends’ market.
The VIC needs to be able to create a space with theatre and excitement that can deliver new opportunities to local business – both established and emerging entrepreneurs.
It must have the ability to educate and challenge perceptions of a region in some way.
Visitors today have a greater interest in learning about a whole of a region and at times this can include the more diverse, darker parts of a region’s history as we look for a truly authentic experience on our travels.
The VIC can and needs to play a key role in conveying the history of a region in all aspects in a manner that is respectful and truthful to be able to engage the increasingly number of visitors who are curious and looking for the truth.
To explore some examples of best practice models please visit the following:
Barossa Visitor Centre at
My Barossa on Facebook and Barossa made on Instagram
Napa Valley Welcome Centre
visitnapavalley.com
Albany Visitor Centre
theamazingsouthcoast.com
*Image of the Barossa Visitor Centre courtesy of Mason Digital.