ASVA Event

Complete Storytelling

This one day workshop is designed to help tourism businesses with their recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Delegates will learn new communications and sales skills to help enhance customer service delivery and re-build income streams. Successful consumer experiences are the product of creating and delivering engaging and memorable stories. Stories effortlessly transform consumers into ambassadors; generating repeat visits, recommendations and increased secondary spend.

Complete Storytelling is a highly motivational workshop that breaks down the fears and boundaries that prohibit truly effective communication. This is achieved through teaching and practicing practical methods in a safe, supported and inspiring environment. Using performance techniques, the experienced trainers will hone participant’s skills in Body Language and Voice by teaching tried and tested tips and tricks used regularly by actors and presenters.

Over the course of the training, attendees will learn how the power of your story can motivate staff, create exceptional consumer experiences and generate income in a COVID secure environment. Attendees will be taught how to use storytelling to engage, sell and create brand loyalty.

Workshop Content:
Theory

Why do we tell stories?
The impact of stories
The 6 essential stories
The 3 vital uses for stories in business
Your business stories
Story structure
Communication styles
The importance of stories in a pandemic

Practical:

Body language
Vocal technique
Stagecraft
Communicating in a mask
Working with text
Storytelling hacks
Practice in a safe environment
Individual Feedback

Previous participants of this course have ranged from volunteers to CEOs, and everything in between. A little apprehension pre workshop is normal, increased confidence, positivity and new tricks up your sleeve post workshop is standard.

Find out more about what the course involves here. The course is delivered by training and storytelling experts from Complete Works.

Cost: The delegate fee is £50, inclusive of VAT.

Venue: This event will be held in Edinburgh at The Scotch Whisky Experience.

Everything you ever wanted to know about Google Things to do

New ASVA trade members, Redeam.com, will be leading this insightful webinar on Google Things to do. In this session you will learn…

• What Google Things to do is
• How to integrate with Google Things to do through Redeam
• How to take more control over direct customer bookings
• How to improve visibility in the Google Things to do panel
• How you can align your attraction with OTAs
• How you can ensure yield management
• Provide a seamless customer experience.
• Insights into what is coming next with Google Things to do.

This event is free for ASVA members. Please register via this link.

Boost your online sales and succeed in 2022 with dynamic pricing

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted significantly on attractions in many ways, in particular seeing an increase in the number of attractions now offering online booking. Also impacting on attractions is the shift from ‘volume to value’, continuing the trend which has seen visitors respond positively to a less busy, more personal visitor experience. All of these changes have contributed to accelerate change in the ticketing industry, to help adapt the customer journey to this ‘new normal’. New times call for new strategies, new collaborations, and new technologies to better manage capacity utilisation and maximise revenue.

This webinar, delivered in partnership with ASVA trade member, Smeetz, will guide you through different ways to help you boost your online sales and optimise your capacity by sharing insights and showcasing relevant examples.

Key topics
● What are the key benefits of online ticketing
● Dynamic pricing for the leisure industry debunked
● How to maximise attendance and increase revenue thanks to dynamic pricing
● How to generate recurring revenue in the leisure industry
● How to increase your customer basket value with dynamic packages

Takeaways
● Why now is key to investing in online ticketing.
● Get started on the path to capacity and revenue optimisation.
● Why static pricing may be leading to a loss of visitors and money?
● The advantages of cross selling and enhancing your customer experience.

ASVA AGM

We are pleased to invite all ASVA members to attend our Annual General Meeting, which will take place on Monday 29 November at 10am.

The AGM will be held virtually, via Zoom. Members can register by clicking here.

The agenda for the meeting can be found at this link .

The AGM Minutes in item 2 can be found in the Members Area of the ASVA website. Please click on ‘ASVA Management Information’, followed by ‘ASVA Organisational Information’ to access the minutes.

The Financial Statements referred to in item 3 can also be found in the ‘ASVA Management Information’ section of the ASVA website, under ‘Annual Accounts’, in the Members Area.

If you have any items or questions you would like to be raised in item 5 ‘Any Other Business’, please submit in writing to us at info@asva.co.uk by 5pm on Monday 22 November.

At the conclusion of the formal AGM business, our CEO – Gordon Morrison – will reflect on the last year of ASVA activity, as well as looking forward to ASVA’s plans for 2022, including introducing members to our new Vision and Mission Statements as part of our new 5 year strategy for the organisation. We are also delighted to announce that we will be joined by VisitScotland’s new Director of Industry & Destination Development – Rob Dickson – who will look ahead to what 2022 holds for the tourism industry and the priorities for VisitScotland.

We look forward to seeing you (virtually) on the 29^th of November.

Exceeding Visitor Expectations

We’re delighted to once again be able to offer our acclaimed Exceeding Visitor Expectations training course, which is designed specifically for frontline staff at visitor attractions.

This result-driven, highly relevant one-day course has a proven record of success – many of Scotland’s leading attractions have already taken advantage of it to boost their business performance and competitive edge by enhancing the quality of their visitor offering.

Exceeding Visitor Expectations has been created and crafted to equip customer-facing staff with the specialist skills and insights they need to deliver the very highest standards of service – ensuring every visitor enjoys a truly outstanding experience. Developed in conjunction with VisitScotland, the content is aligned with its Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme, to enable participants to support their attraction in meeting and surpassing the standards of 5-star service, hospitality and friendliness that are measured during a quality assurance assessment. Key areas covered can be seen below, and more information can be found here:

• Identify what your attraction and the area where you work has to offer;
• Understand who your visitors are and what the need and expect;
• Meet, manage and, whenever possible, exceed visitor expectations;
• Welcome visitors from all sections of the community and provide an accessible service;
• Communicate successfully with visitors;
• Use product/ destination knowledge to provide information and advice in an inspiring way;
• Deal effectively with challenging situations;
• Act as an ambassador for your attraction and local area.

Renowned skills development expert Catherine Bowie of Communicate Consultants will lead the training. Catherine is highly experienced in coaching sector team members and providing tailored guidance to enable them to fulfil the potential of their roles, enhancing visitor engagement and satisfaction. This empowers staff, honing their communications skills and building their confidence to help them handle any situation and act as a great ambassador for your attraction.

Please note: Cancellation of a booking (by emailing info@asva.co.uk ) must be received at least 7 days prior to the event to be eligible for a refund. Bookings cancelled less than 7 days before the event, and non-attendance, will be non-refundable.

September Members Meetup

We are pleased to advise that the next online ASVA Members Meetup event will take place on Thursday, 30 September at 10:30am. This latest in our regular series of free virtual networking events will primarily focus on how our sector has been responding since Scotland moved beyond Level 0 on 9 August when the majority of remaining COVID restrictions were removed.

The session will provide an opportunity to bring the ASVA community together to discuss the impact of the removal of most restrictions– both in terms of how attractions are currently operating and how your visitors are responding. We will also look at the choices different attractions have made regarding maintaining some mitigating measures, for example continuing with enhanced cleaning or continuing to limit capacities in order to help alleviate any visitor/staff concerns.

Our CEO, Gordon Morrison will be on hand to talk through the key headlines from the latest sector-wide survey, examining performance levels and industry needs. This survey is currently being completed by members and will provide ASVA with as up to date a picture of sectoral performance as it is possible to have.

Please do join us to hear observations and insights, share your own experiences and views, and of course, ask any burning questions to ASVA and/or your peers.

Our Members Meetup takes place from 10.30am -11.30am on 30 September. You can register for the free event via the link to the left.

We look forward to seeing you on the 30^th.

Scotland’s National Tourism Industry Conference 2021

We are delighted to share news that the dates of 24th and 25th November have been confirmed for the return of Scotland’s national tourism industry conference!

This will be the first opportunity in over 18 months for Scotland’s tourism community to come together to reconnect, learn, share knowledge, inspire each other and celebrate our almighty achievements in all that we have done as an industry to navigate our way through the toughest period imaginable.

Delivered and hosted by the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA), the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA), HIT Scotland (Hospitality Industry Trust) and Scotland Food & Drink, this two day hybrid event has been shaped around the pillars and priority areas of Scotland’s Future Tourism Strategy, ‘Outlook 2030‘ – our passionate people, our thriving places, our diverse businesses and our memorable experiences.

The event will bring together an exciting range of industry relevant speakers to deliver the most important insights, advice and inspiration we need as we move through the pandemic towards recovery and to what has become a very different landscape.

The event is a ‘do not miss’ for all working at every level, in every part of tourism, from bars, restaurants, hotels to visitor attractions, food and drink businesses, inbound tour operators, the adventure sector, self-catering businesses, transport, suppliers and more; tourism is everyone’s business and almost every sector has been touched by the impact of the pandemic on Scotland’s tourism industry.

This is our opportunity to recover together and hear from the people who can guide us along the best possible path, propelled by renewed energy and inspiration to do so with the ambition that we all hold for the future of Scotland’s tourism industry.

Food tourism, a key driver for Scotland’s tourism industry recovery is the flavour for our conference social event this year. Join us in the EICC’s Cromdale Hall immediately after the first day’s conference programme, as guests of Scotland Food & Drink.

We are delighted to present a vibrant and relevant programme and a line-up of outstanding speakers: high-profile industry experts who will be sharing the vital insights, advice and inspiration our industry needs to overcome current challenges, focus on rebuilding from the impact of the pandemic, and securing future success.

We have an absolutely jam packed two days programme with over 30 of the best and most relevant speakers to give you absolutely everything you need and more!

Please click here for details of the programme.

Our Conference will be an unmissable event so to avoid disappointment, please ensure you book your ticket as soon as possible via the Eventbrite link here.

ASVA/BVA BDRC Webinar – An Analysis of Quality of Experience and COVID Safety Measures at Scottish Visitor Attractions

Over the last couple of months, ASVA has partnered with research consultancy BVA BDRC to conduct mystery visits across 20 of Scotland’s visitor attractions, with the express aim of assessing quality of experience and the delivery of COVID safety measures in the new landscape that attractions are now operating in.

Over the course of the last two months, trained auditors have assessed a carefully chosen and diverse range of attractions on the full visitor journey. On Wednesday 4^th August at 10.30am, Jon Young and Diana Meterna, Director and Senior Research Executive from BVA BDRC will present the headline findings from this exercise. The presentation will illustrate how well Scottish attractions are currently performing on:

Pre-booking: Ease of booking, website navigation and information provided
Staff engagement: At key transitional points and during the visit
Visitor experience: Interpretation, navigation and guided tours
COVID safety: How it is communicated (before and after the visit) and policed, how well it is adhered to, and the impact on the visit.
Toilets: Cleanliness and presentation
Retail and catering: Quality, range and price of products

In addition to overall headlines, the presentation will aim to inspire you with best practice from selected venues. This will include brilliant examples of everything from ‘tidy toilets’ to ‘creative COVID communications’.

This is sure to be a webinar will lots of insights and practical takeaways for attractions of all sizes and varieties.

We hope you can join us.

ASVA Members Meet Up: Beyond Level 0 – How are Scottish Attractions Approaching the Lifting of Restrictions?

Following the Scottish Government’s announcement of the further relaxation of restrictions on 19 July and the move to ‘Beyond Level 0’ on 9 August, ASVA has received a number of queries from members about how attractions are planning to approach the relaxation of restrictions, particularly with regard to visitor operations and communications.

In light of this, we are hosting a special Members Meetup event on Wednesday 14 July, when we will be discussing the lifting of restrictions and will be asking you, our members, how you are planning to adapt your experiences and how you are communicating these changes to prospective visitors.

We know, for example, that some attractions are nervous about lifting physical distancing restrictions completely, as there are concerns about how this will impact on consumer confidence. We have also had questions about essential pre-booking and whether this will be continued at attractions beyond level 0, or whether we will see a return to pre-Covid norms of accepting walk ups without any pre-booking. In addition, questions have been raised about how members are intending to communicate their ‘beyond level 0’ experiences to visitors and how to reassure any visitors (and staff) who have safety concerns.

The meeting will be facilitated by ASVA CEO, Gordon Morrison who will provide the latest information on the lifting of restrictions, and we will hear from some leading operators in the sector who will share their thoughts on how they are intending to respond to ‘beyond level 0’.

The main focus of the meeting is to enable members to share their ideas and ask questions of each other about the ‘beyond level 0’ landscape and whether there will be a common approach taken by attractions to the lifting of restrictions.

We look forward to hearing your views, in what should be a very interesting meeting.

The meeting will take place on Wednesday 14 July, from 10:30am – 11:30am.

ASVA Members Meetup

Our next Members Meetup will be taking place on Wednesday 16 June, from 10am to 11.30am. This virtual networking event will focus on the reopening of the attractions sector since the relaxation of restrictions on 26^th April.

With much of the sector reopening again after a long period of lockdown, we will use this latest Members Meetup as an opportunity to bring the ASVA family of attractions together to share observations and insights on the challenges and successes of reopening. We know that there has been a lot of positive stories around reopening, particularly with regards to visitor and staff feedback, but we also know there have been many challenges, and indeed not all sites have been able to reopen yet. Join us at the Meetup to share your own insights and, of course, to ask any burning questions to ASVA and/or your peers.

We have a great line-up of presenters for the event as follows:

Adam Christie – Head of Audience Insight & Visitor Experience at the National Galleries of Scotland. Adam will join us to share reopening experiences from the National Galleries, including how they have used audience feedback to help determine what was reopened and what changes needed to be made at the galleries with this latest reopening.
Mike Benson – Director at the Scottish Crannog Centre. As well as sharing reopening challenges and successes from the Scottish Crannog Centre, Mike will also provide some additional inspiration to members regarding their hugely successful apprenticeship programme, which has been nominated for a Community Impact Award at the Museums + Heritage Award.
Rachel Mackay – Manager at Historic Royal Palaces at Kew and Founder of The Recovery Room – Rachel has recently be nominated for Covid Special Recognition Award as part of the Museums + Heritage Awards, and we are delighted that she will be joining us at the Meetup to discuss the importance of community engagement as attractions reopen and how important this is going to be to the recovery of the sector.
Kerry Donaghy –Respitality Scotland Coordinator at Shared Care Scotland – There has never been a more important time to support unpaid carers and ASVA has been delighted with the response from members to engagement with Respitality. Kerry will close off the event by sharing insights about the ongoing work of Respitality, the important role that attractions have played in supporting their work and how your attraction can get involved. She will also provide an update on the ‘Respitality at Home’ virtual opportunities pilot, which a number of ASVA member attractions are involved with.

Following the short presentations there will be time for a facilitated Q&A session and for members to share their own views and experiences.

This is a networking event for all ASVA members and is free to attend.

Complete Storytelling – Edinburgh

This one day workshop is an exciting and hugely relevant new training and development opportunity. Designed to help visitor attractions with their recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, it is aimed at operations staff and management and will teach new communications and sales skills to help enhance customer service delivery and re-build income streams.

All attraction operators are aware that the world has changed and we all need to change with it. The impact of the pandemic has hit our industry hard and we want to help enable ambitious visitor destinations to thrive, giving them the tools they need to sustainably safeguard their futures.

We believe a key element to this is great Storytelling. Successful visitor experiences are the product of creating and delivering engaging and memorable stories. Stories effortlessly transform visitors into ambassadors; generating repeat visits, recommendations and increased secondary spend.

Over the course of the training, attendees will learn how the power of your story can motivate staff, create exceptional visitor experiences and generate income in a COVID secure environment. Attendees will be taught how to use storytelling to engage, sell and create brand loyalty.

Workshop Content:

Stories effortlessly transform visitors into ambassadors; generating repeat visits, recommendations and increased secondary spend.

Theory

Why do we tell stories?
The impact of stories
The 6 essential stories
The 3 vital uses for stories in business
Your business stories
Story structure
Communication styles
The importance of stories in a pandemic

Practical:

Body language
Vocal technique
Stagecraft
Communicating in a mask
Working with text
Storytelling hacks
Practice in a safe environment
Individual Feedback

Previous participants of this course have ranged from retired volunteers to students, from brand new Front of House teams to CEOs. A little apprehension pre workshop is normal, increased confidence, positivity and new tricks up your sleeve post workshop is standard.

Cost:

Please note the delegate fee is £30 (inc vat). We thank Skills Development Scotland for their support in enabling us to offer this opportunity to ASVA members.

Venue:

This workshop will be held at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Complete Storytelling – Dundee