PGAV’s Best of 2019
The last year of the decade was a thrilling one for PGAV, with grand openings for our clients, big changes in our studio, and new insights from attraction guests around the world.
Scroll onward to revisit the stories that were on our designers’ minds throughout the year!
Attraction Openings
The brand-new, 120,000 sq. ft. St. Louis Aquarium opened at historic Union Station, bringing technological innovations and 13,000 animals representing 257 species to a beautiful downtown venue.
The Space Exploration Gallery opened at Cincinnati Museum Center, leveraging stories from former board member Neil Armstrong and celebrating the future of space exploration.
The new Apollo XII exhibit opened at the Virginia Air and Space Center, featuring the Yankee Clipper, tilted to showcase the heat shield, which protected the three astronauts upon re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere.
The stunning, 150-room Hotel Colorado Creek opened at Spain’s PortAventura as the newest addition to the popular Far West region of the park.
The dynamic Chihuahuan Desert opened at the El Paso Zoo, revealing an innovative flash flood recreation and showcasing the exciting nearby desert environments that guests can explore.
PGAV Gets Green(er)
For the first time in its history, PGAV Destinations closed its office for an entire day to volunteer with multiple non-profits across the St. Louis region.
Attraction designer Sarah Aman delivered an inspiring TEDx Gateway Arch Talk, showcasing the simple steps we can take to make lasting, positive impacts on the environment.
PGAV entered its first St. Louis Green Business Challenge, and took first place in the Leader Tenant category for our efforts within our studio, 200 N. Broadway building, and the St. Louis region at-large.
With its renovation completed in 2018, Chattanooga’s Ruby Falls was awarded the Governor’s Environmental Steward Award by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.
PGAV Grows
PGAV welcomed a class of six new hires in 2019, continuing a consistent year-over-year growth trajectory and widening our breadth of skills and offerings.
In 2019, we launched our brand new program PGAV Presents, welcoming speakers from a variety of backgrounds to share their stories and insights with our attraction designers, inspiring new perspectives and ideas.
Expanding our social reach with LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, PGAV added its Instagram account in 2019, finding new ways to share our favorite stories and moments with our colleagues and clients.
New Insights
Our landmark Welcome! Profile of International Visitors to America showcased the motivations, travel patterns, and reviews of guests from China, Japan, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
The fourth annual Voice of the Visitor: Outlook on the Attractions Industry highlighted increasing populations of people of color, yet a decline in their attraction satisfaction, along with insights into the essential Millennial Mom target market.
Leaders from across the attractions industry and around the world shared their lessons and insights on the changing workplace and the needs of the next generation of leadership in the fall issue of Destinology.
We explored the lessons learned and the exciting adventure of our own St. Louis studio renovation in summer 2019’s Destinology.
2019 was an incredible and exciting year for PGAV Destinations, and we can’t wait to share what new studio innovations and project openings await us in the dawn of a new decade. Happy 2020!
