Introduction
Any organization set up for the purpose of exploiting the interests of people with regard to recreation, arts, culture, and other related fields should be designed in such a way as to attract the persons interested in those fields. The growth in the tourism and entertainment sectors has necessitated the development of a specialized discipline called visitor attraction management. Unless the organization has a concept that has the ability to attract visitors or the administrative and marketing processes in that organization has the resources to manage them, visitors will stop coming to the place. In other words, the above-mentioned factors are crucial in the success of any ideas aimed at making profits through visits and the resulting income from the visitors. This paper is a study of a failure in visitor attraction management and will focus on the failed concept of the National Centre for Popular Music (NCPM) in Sheffield, UK.
Brief Background of the case: The NCPM was a bold and innovative venture thought by the Sheffield County Board in order to prop up its failing economy that was once dominated by steel mills. The center which developed as a museum for pop music failed to attract even half the optimistic estimate of visitors. People have primarily blamed the consultants for the concept, by estimating improbable visitor estimates in order to obtain large funding from organizations in the country. Whatever may be the reason, visits did not even match the most conservative figures (as per the opinion of the board members) and the center had to ultimately close down to lack of operational income.
Visitor attractions management: The common definition used in the UK of what constitutes visitor attraction is explained here at first. The place to which visitors are attracted should be a permanent structure and should be to allow public access to entertainment, education, or other interests. The center should not be primarily used as “a retail outlet or venue for sporting, theatrical or film performances.” (Fyall, Garrod & Leask, 2003, p.10). Visitors should also be able to visit the place without prior booking and the center must get its income directly from the visitors. Even though the authors of this book state that this definition is a bit outdated, the NCPM satisfies all the above-mentioned parameters and hence can be considered to be visitor attractive center. But it had obviously failed in some areas of visitor attraction and management and this will be reviewed in the coming sections of the paper.
Factors and requirements in visitor attraction management: In order to attract visitors, a center should have something that should be attractive to people to prompt them to see the place. An ideal visitor attraction center should have the following characteristics in order to attract new visitors and also get repeat visits. “A visitor attraction is a feature in an area that is a place, venue or focus of activities and does the following things.” (Swarbrooke, 2002).
Enjoyment and fun: The center should have exhibits and facilities that can provide fun/enjoyment to its visitors. The atmosphere should be such that visitors can have a pleasurable experience while they while away their leisure time.
Cater to the needs and wants of visitors: The attraction should be so designed that it will satisfy the needs of the visitors it was designed to attract. For example, the NCPM should be able to satisfy the needs and wants of popular music lovers.
Enticing people to visit: The attractions should be such that they will entice people to visit the place. It is not enough that the organizers of the center put in some attractions that they feel will be attractive to others. Proper study and planning have to be done to see what type of attractions will interest people.
Purpose and benefits of visitor attraction centers: The primary requirements that a center is designed to attract visitors have already been mentioned above. But apart from attracting visitors and earning money, most such centers serve a broader secondary purpose. This is especially true in the case of the NCPM. “Attractions are also a major draw for many visits, especially in areas where the regeneration strategies by public and private sector agencies have underpinned future tourism development around such a hub of activity.” (Page, 2003, p.220).
This secondary purpose or benefit is represented in the following diagram.
(Page, 2003, p.221). Had the NCPM succeeded in attracting visitors, the above cycle would have taken place. The area would have developed in general through ht increasing number of visitors. Once the center becomes well-known, growth and maturity will follow. In the process, a whole section of the society like residents, other businesses (mainly ancillary units to the center), and investors in the center will benefit from its growth. The place will have a new image and will become well-known as a music lovers destination. It is possible that at one stage after maturity, the center may begin to decline in popularity. This could be due to outdated attractions. At that time a new infusion of life through additional funding, public-private partnerships, and introduction of relevant attractions can be done. The NCPM was in fact set up with such an objective of community development in mind. (Kam, 2004, p.170).
Challenges in a visitor attraction industry: The visitor attraction industry can be considered to be part of the service sector, and hence faces all the challenges that occur in such an area of activity. (Leask & Yeoman, 2002, p.32). So, the NCPM can be considered to be a part of the service industry. Since it is a showcase of pop history, it can also be categorized under the label heritage industry. Customer or in this case, visitor satisfaction is essential in the success of any such venture. In other words, “Understanding the visitor experience is a key factor in determining the success of a visitor attraction.” (Page, 2003, p.236). There are other factors that are important for customer satisfaction like service quality, behavior towards visitors, cleanliness, and ambiance. But the case study has not mentioned these as issues that led to the closure of the NCPM. Moreover, the venture was practically a non-starter and the main issue that had come up was a lack of customer interest.
Issues that led to the closure of the NCPM
It can be seen that there are three reasons, two major, and the other not of great importance, that led to the closure of this much-hyped project. The major issue was that the visitors were just not excited by the offerings of the center. This is even though the center had been able to attract adequate funding, purchase property, and build stylish buildings for this purpose. The concept also gained wide publicity in the press even before it started its operations and was considered to be a unique one, not tried anywhere in the world before. The main drawback was the lack of customer satisfaction. The center did not deliver what was promised by not being able to exhibit original pieces of rock paraphernalia. The center had also promised interaction with musical instruments which also proved to be disappointing to visitors. “The center’s ‘hands-on’ approach, which encourages visitors to pick up instruments or make their own pop videos, was said to be ‘limited’.” (Entertainment Debts rock pop museum, 1999). Visitors have reported the whole experience to be boring and unexciting. The second was that the estimated number of visitors was exaggerated to the tune of four times the actual number. This exaggerated figure led to the availability of huge funds which went into the purchase of property and construction of designer buildings. The lack of visitors led to the inability of the center to pay back its debts. The minor factor was that the location was not seen as favorable to many people.
Conclusion
One of the most important factors in the success of a visitor attraction center is customer satisfaction or customer experience. The NCPM failed miserably in this regard even though it had very impressive premises and buildings. None of these factors could save it from bankruptcy. The lesson to be learned here is that customer experience is the most important feature in the success of such ventures. The investment could have been paid off if the center had at least half of its estimated visitors.
References
Entertainment Debts rock pop museum. (1999). BBC News. (2009). Web.
Fyall, Alan., Garrod, Brian., & Leask, Anna. (2003). Defining visitor attractions. Managing Visitor Attractions. 10. (2009). Web.
Kam, Jacqueline. (2004). The rise and fall of NCPM. Success in Failure: The National Centre for Popular Music, Prometheus, 22 (2), 170. Taylor & Francis Ltd. (Provided by student).
Leask, Anna., & Yeoman, Ian. (2002). Challenges to management. Heritage Visitor Attractions. 32. (2009). Web.
Page, Stephen. (2003). Introduction. Tourism Management. 220. (2009). Web.
Page, Stephen. (2003). Tourism and regeneration. Tourism Management. 221. (2009). Web.
Page, Stephen. (2003). Visitor attractions and product life cycle. Tourism Management. 236. (2009). Web.
Swarbrooke, John. (2002). Definitions. The Development and Management of Visitor Attractions. (2009). Web.