Overview

Part Five looks to the future of visitor attractions, the future of the visitor attraction sector more generally and the future visitation patterns of visitors in particular. Visitor attractions have sometimes been viewed as followers rather than innovators within the tourism industry. However, visitor attractions can no longer rely on relatively stable market conditions and reliable sources of funding. In the context of a more dynamic, perhaps more fickle market environment, as well as a rapidly changing funding environment, many visitor attractions are presently facing a sink or swim scenario. Notwithstanding this, a number of themes could be considered to be important for this section. These include the extent to which visitor attractions should respond to the progress of technology and the degree to which technology represents an opportunity or threat for the visitor attraction sector. Also, the decline in the contribution of the public sector and the growth of private sector and voluntary provision is a noticeable trend. The question of funding has major implications, particularly for the perceived need to generate income from visitors and other potential user groups. The increasing need to source additional funding and revenue streams is one factor that has contributed to the gradual migration of professional expertise from the wider commercial leisure industries into the visitor attraction sector. Although it is still a little too...