Attractions Insight

Make your brand the main attraction.

Discover the latest in market trends and online behavioural changes to help drive your digital strategy.

SECTION ONE

An overview of the online landscape.

Overall trends derived from search marketing and traffic data across most popular queries and websites.

Steady online market growth.

After disruption during the pandemic, the online attractions landscape has seen a return to more typical seasonal trends. Total visits across the top 100 websites has grown 3% year-on-year.

Overall traffic share for the sector is dominated by ticket aggregators and theme parks. While the list primarily consists of UK-based attractions, the authority of the Disneyland Paris website allows it to compete amongst the top 15 brands.

Domain	Traffic Share	Yearly Change
viator.com	9.0%	-6%
digitickets.co.uk	7.7%	-4%
getyourguide.com	7.3%	16%
altontowers.com	3.9%	8%
thorpepark.com	2.3%	-9%
disneylandparis.com	2.2%	20%
legoland.co.uk	2.2%	-9%
chessington.com	1.8%	10%
visitsealife.com	1.6%	41%
blackpoolpleasurebeach.com	1.6%	-5%
londoneye.com	1.4%	8%
merlinannualpass.co.uk	1.0%	27%
altontowersholidays.com	1.0%	-7%
wmsp.co.uk	1.0%	-14%
draytonmanor.co.uk	1.0%	-12%

Source: Market leaders within the tourist attractions sector, Similarweb, UK, July - September 2023.

our view

Rowena, Advertising Consultant

The last 12 months has been a hugely popular time for our attraction clients. We've seen particular growth across the domestic tourist market and a clear rise in visitors seeking out affordable days out.

22%

of traffic comes from desktop.

78%

of traffic comes from mobile devices.

44% of attractions market traffic belongs to just 1% of websites.

It's a competitive space dominated by a small number of high profile websites.

Source: Similarweb

41% of users only visit one website within a typical online journey.

23% visit two websites, while 36% visit three or more. Successful brands need to capture attention early in the attractions search journey.

Source: Similarweb

HISTORICAL SITES

9% overall Google search growth year-on-year.

Google search insight data 2023.

14%

increase in mobile queries

1%

decline in desktop queries

MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES

17% overall Google search growth year-on-year.

Google search insight data 2023.

23%

increase in mobile queries

4%

increase in desktop queries

SECTION TWO

Shifts in behavioural trends.

Search demand is ever-changing. We share the impact of recent events on people searching within the sector and look ahead to emerging trends.

44,040 average searches per month for Google searches about visiting the next day, weekend, week or even same day.

Searches about visiting London the next day, weekend, or same day.

Combined avg. monthly searches (Semrush)

Sustainable tourism in search.

Sustainability is firmly on the agenda. It manifests itself in different ways with endless attractions delivering innovative initiatives, whether that's reducing impact such as Blenheim Palace's pledge or putting education at the heart of the experience as demonstrated by brands including Eden Project and the National Marine Aquarium.

It matters to your visitors too. 41% of people said environmental sustainability affected their purchase decisions by 'a fair amount' or 'to a large extent'. Comparatively, 35% said the same for decisions around travel. (YouGov Travel Tracker, YouGov Purchase Tracker, Aug 2023).

When we look at search behaviour, the volume and rising trend for sustainability-related search queries focuses on understanding the topic rather than action orientated search behaviour such as searching for the most sustainable attractions to visit. The search term 'sustainable attractions' has less than 1,000 monthly searches, a trend that has stayed static since 2019. For context the term 'attractions near me' achieves on average 65,000 monthly searches (Glimpse, October 2023).

our view

Sam, Head of Marketing

Sustainability will be front of mind for more and more people deciding on an attraction or activity. Clearly sign-post your sustainability credentials throughout your audiences' online journey, whether that's within your metadata, on your homepage, or as part of a ticket booking process if your platform allows.

The future of search.

Search is evolving. Finding information will be inherently more conversational rather than the traditional way of clicking links to different sites and sources. In attractions, Google Search Generative Experience (SGE) is going to change the way some consumers find your attraction, plan their trips, learn about your exhibitions and more.

Bing has already integrated ChatGPT within its search results. It has a dedicated space at the side, but also opens up a full chat screen if you scroll up or tap the chat tab. You can compare the difference in results below from what Google currently shows vs a conversational search experience on Bing.

Search term: Best things to do visiting Yorkshire with kids.

our view

While generative search functionality will change the face of search engines in the short term, consumers will adopt it in different ways and its impact may not truly be realised until it becomes a fully native experience. Your site and other channels will still play a pivotal role in the user's journey for many visitors so it's still important to focus on solid website foundations now and in the future.

SECTION THREE

In conclusion.

A competitive online landscape.

Ticket and attraction aggregator websites monopolise the search results for many queries in this sector. With conversational search on the horizon, traffic acquisition will become more difficult for many brands.

Positioning your brand in line with growing trends such as sustainability and cost sensitivity can improve your cut through and engage with online audiences more effectively.

Trends aside, it's vital to get your foundations right. Optimise your customer's online journey and regardless of your audience demographic, don't underestimate the importance of mobile devices.

Discover your opportunity.

At Crafted, we work closely with arts, culture, attraction and travel brands. Driving performance based outcomes across marketing strategy to website design and development.

If you want to look beyond the top level trends, really understand your position in the online attractions market, let us know. We can analyse your website, providing specific insight to shape a more effective digital strategy.

BESPOKE INSIGHT FOR YOUR BRAND

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