With reopening on the horizon, now is the best time to be creating outdoor experiences for the rest of the year.
From early April, visitor attractions with outdoor offers can start to reopen, but for any site with space, activities outside should be a serious consideration for if you can offer them.
They can be simple - fun, theme-based trails always work with families that love to explore; nature-based arts and crafts are always a hit and can be self-led; and promotion of access to nature and space can be enough to attract people.
Or they can be bolder and require more planning - art installations within the landscape can be really thought-provoking; temporary activities such as zip wires or climbing nets appeal to the more active; festivals that bring features to life such as trees and plants can also work well to create a programme of activity. And they alone can make your place a destination.
You can link in to your commercial offer across your outdoor activity. If you have a cafe on-site consider how you can make that a takeaway or provide a pop-up close to the experience you’re creating; package up a picnic deal and promote a lovely place to eat it; or quite simply, sell tickets to your activity to give it a level of exclusivity.
There are some brilliant examples out there. I’m stealing with pride from a great article 2020 lockdown article in The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/oct/28/uk-tourism-venues-embrace-the-great-outdoors-to-survive-the-pandemic
Take your indoor activity outdoors: what do visitors love doing indoors that you could take outside?
Use art to engage with visitors: the Southbank Centre and Compton Verney have used space on rooftops and in gardens to display art. Where could you place it?
Provide a coffee pod: pods or huts can provide a safe, sheltered place to enjoy a hot drink or food. Could you provide a place with a view?
Do something completely different: intrigue and surprise your visitors. What could you do that's unexpected to give people a reason to come back?
Plan big and sell tickets: could you drive income with a big ticketed event later in 2021 or early in 2022?
Covid isn't going away, but with the vaccine roll-out moving at pace and good weather returning, consider what you could do. I can help you deliver programming that's right for you and your visitors.
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