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

Time to Change: Creating an Inclusive Guest Culture to Meet Rapidly Changing Demographics

Zoos and aquariums play an important role within their communities as leaders in conservation, environmental education, animal care, and family fun. However, just as important as this ability to lead is the willingness and agility to adjust to their communities’ needs. As visitor demographics, habits, and expectations change, what are zoos and aquariums doing to meet these new audiences? The goals of this session are to outline research regarding the changing trends in visitor demographics while exploring the actions that several institutions are taking to engage communities in new and unique ways.

Research shows that visitor demographics are changing dramatically for all visitor attractions over the next 25 years. What does this mean to Zoo and Aquarium marketing, attraction design, expectations, and visitorship? PGAV Vice President John Kemper will present the latest findings from Voice of the Visitor.

September 9 @ 10:30 am

New Orleans, LA

TEDx Gateway Arch: Crash Course with PGAV’s Sarah Aman

Designing for Impact

Sarah is an exhibit and graphic designer with a passion for sustainable action and environmental conservation. At PGAV Destinations, she not only works with clients to design meaningful visitor experiences, she also founded and leads the company’s first official Green Team. By combining her love for nature and her skills in design, Sarah seeks to inspire individual action in the face of overwhelming environmental issues. Through this inspiring and empowering message, Sarah will share practical skills and opportunities we can use to create change wherever we are.

September 12 @ 6:00 pm

St. Louis, MO

Swimmin’ and BIMin’: A Partnered Collaboration of Transforming Union Station into an Aquarium

BIM has changed the way we work together, demanding new levels of collaboration. Teams need to come together in the early stages of the project to determine workflows before the work begins. The days of working in silos are going away. We have to communicate, coordinate, and collaborate more than ever.

PGAV Destinations and McCarthy will share their experience of BIM and VDC from design through construction of the St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station. We will discuss our workflows, the collaborative BIM Execution Plan we developed, and how the team collaborated to overcome the challenges of constructing a 120,000 square-foot modern aquarium in a 125-year-old national historic landmark.

September 17 @ 10:00 am

St. Louis, MO