As we head into the start of the busiest period for the region’s tourism sector BETHANY WALES looks at how local attractions are tapping into the all-important return visitor market.
With a diverse offering of beaches, broads, and towns, our region has no trouble convincing visitors to return year after year.
But, while tourists play an important role in supporting the sector, local people often dictate an attraction’s success.
“The local market is hugely important because they’re close enough to come back several times a year,” said Mel Cook from VisitNorwich.
“If they develop a relationship with a business then they often become your strongest advocates.
“If you’ve been somewhere wonderful then when friends and family come to stay, they’re proud to take them to those places.
“People love recommendations because there’s no bias there.”
And when it comes to keeping things fresh for those return visits, she said creativity is as important as spending.
“Whatever your budget, you can continue to create unique experiences for people. Focus on creativity.
“It’s about looking at what you already have and finding original ways to highlight that.
“For example, if you’ve got an attraction with an outdoor space, you can create new trails with clues for people to follow.
"That could be as simple as new signage. Yes, there’s a small spend there, but it’s not going to be thousands.”
Fresh ideas
Tourist attractions across the region are hoping to kick off the summer with new offerings.
The Sea Life Centre in Great Yarmouth and Reydon Grange near Beccles are just a couple of the venues launching new offerings this year.
For Wroxham Barns, a farm and indoor play centre, coming up with fresh ideas can be a challenge.
Its director Harry Petrie said: “We’re having to constantly come up with something that’s new and different because people don’t want to go back to the same place again and again and have the same experience.
“Even if it's little changes here and there, we’re always focusing on giving them a reason to come back.”
According to Mr Petrie, the team was forced to shift its thinking back in 2019, when after nearly 40 years in business, it became clear it was haemorrhaging money.
He said: “We knew we had to change to secure our future.
“It’s weird to say, but lockdown gave us time to look at our current offering and work out where we could go bigger to encourage people back through the gates.”
Putting on special events turned out to be key. As well as expanding its Christmas party activities, the company launched a unicorn-themed event, which was so successful they ran it for three consecutive years.
But, Mr Petrie said, the key takeaway was to reinvent even the most successful ideas.
He said: “It was a huge hit the first couple of years, but after a while popularity started to drop off and it was time to move on to the next thing.
“Trends are always changing so you have to find ways to keep up.”
Playing the long game
One business that’s experienced first-hand the power of reinvention is Roarr! dinosaur park in Lenwade.
Since taking over in 2006, director Adam Goymour said the number of people making return visits to the park has grown in accordance with its extensive rejuvenation work.
And although the updates have been a significant investment, it’s key to their longevity.
He said: “One of our biggest pieces of feedback is that people love to see us reinvesting our profits.
“Obviously we are facing really harsh financial pressures right now, but it’s about the long game.
“We want to invest to keep ourselves top of mind and to stoke peoples’ curiosity.
“We keep putting new things in, and they want to keep coming back.”
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