Insights Archive

Destinology Issues

Renovating Innovation

Reimagining the Destination Design Practice

Empathy is a key component of attraction design: empathy for guests, empathy for clients, empathy for animals. In this issue of Destinology, we explore the lessons learned throughout the renovation of our most familiar attraction, our design studio, and how we kept the creative engines running while the walls came down.

Destinology’s Welcome!

Profile of International Visitors to America

In this condensed, six-article version of our full report (found to the right), PGAV reveals how travelers from five key countries plan their trips to America, where they want to visit and what motivates them to do so, and why many have considered a visit to the States – but are holding off until later.

Family at Busch Gardens Tampa Cheetah Hunt for Voice of the Visitor

Destinology’s Voice of the Visitor

2019 Outlook on the Attractions Industry

This six-article, condensed version is a high-level summary of the key findings from our full, annual Voice of the Visitor report, which can be found to the right in digital format or ordered for free in hard-copy from this page.

Traveling Teenagers

The Heart of Generation Z

You may be seeing clusters of teenagers taking selfies for Instagram and whispering drama-infused hearsay around your attraction; but what you should be seeing are your future members, volunteers, donors, board members, and vice presidents. In this issue of Destinology, we explore these developments to better equip you for the face of your destination’s future.

Cover of February 2018 Destinology, Fight for Attendance, people at Diwali or a Color Run

The Fight for Attendance

The Attraction of the Non-Attraction

When analyzing competition, we most often consider the other brick-and-mortar attractions in our direct market: the other museums, zoos, theme parks, aquariums, theaters, FECs, etc. However, there is a large, diverse, and tempting selection of other entertainment outlets that don’t fall in line with our traditional peers: festivals, sports, tabletop games, watching TV, and exercise. In this issue of Destinology, we explore the other competitors, reveal their popularity and trends, and work to understand their success.

Generationally Speaking

How Cultural Shifts Impact Your Destination

PGAV Destinations recently partnered with H2R Market Research to explore how America’s “Generational Cohorts” have changed in recent years, and how they’re perceiving – and exploring – destinations across the nation. Click to explore today’s generations’ new travel attitudes, preferences, motivators, and behaviors.

Destinology

Our quarterly publication, Destinology, shares consumer insights and trends in the travel and leisure industry. More than 7,000 industry professionals around the world read this award-winning publication.

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Our Publications

Welcome!

2019 Profile of International Visitors to America

In the first ever report of its kind, our study revealed how travelers from Canada, Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, and Japan plan their trips to America, where they want to visit and what motivates them to do so, and why many have considered a visit to the States – but are holding off until later.

Voice of the Visitor

2019 Annual Outlook on the Attractions Industry

Voice of the Visitor provides an industry-standard dashboard that quantifies aggregate attractions’ industry performance and provides an outlook on future visitation, specifically using insights gained directly from the point of view of the visitors themselves about why they choose to visit attractions – or not to visit. The face of America is on track for a dramatic shift, and our report is here to help your attraction be ready for it.

A stock photo of a little girl reading a big book

Storytelling

It Can Change Your Mind

As we carefully study, and have the privilege of helping sculpt, the destination industry, we see guests and visitors becoming more and more captivated by storytelling. We interviewed neuroscientists, social scientists, and our own experienced storytellers to unravel the mysteries and skills woven throughout the best tales ever told.

A group of people huddle around a map and study it with a laptop

The Art of the Family Vacation

What They Want, How They Plan, Why They Go

It’s that delicate balance of interests, more complex than a Congressional subcommittee. It’s the think-on-your-feet flexibility to adapt when things don’t play out the way that you planned. And just when you think you’ve got the kids figured out, they change on you. It’s the family vacation, the most creative act that most families will ever undertake together.

Upcoming Speaker Engagements

Navigating Challenges in Developing New Museum Experiences: Fort Ticonderoga

Beth Hill, President and CEO of Fort Ticonderoga, and Diane Lochner, Vice President at PGAV Destinations, will be discussing the transformative planning efforts at Fort Ticonderoga that started with a Strategic Master Plan in 2011. Their focus will be on one phase of the implementation plan – the Pavilion Node – and the series of improvements, all considering the goals of the Master Plan and the interpretation, preservation, restoration, major projects, and “quick wins.”

The Emotion-Based Museum Experience

Visitor emotions are at play in every aspect of their museum visit. Learn how to improve exhibits using the techniques of emotional story mapping, which connect people to content in dynamic ways. Find out how to create a cohesive and memorable visit by scaffolding the visitor experience from the moment they enter to when they post their Instagram-worthy photo. Understanding and taking into account the arc of visitor emotions can mean the difference between a return visit, good word-of mouth, or a negative TripAdvisor review.

Presented by PGAV Destinations’ Vice President Diane Lochner. She provides project management and design leadership for master plans, attraction and exhibit design, and architecture for a diverse portfolio of projects, including among others the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, SeaWorld, Patriots Point Foundation and Cincinnati Museum Center. Her 23-year career as a registered architect also includes design and management of high end residential and commercial architecture. Diane received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Kansas and a Master of Architecture from The Ohio State University.

November 18 @ 10:00 am

Orlando, FL