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Key takeaways from the National Attractions Marketing Conference 2025
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This year’s National Attractions Marketing Conference, organised by The Tourism Business, was packed with valuable insights for marketers in the attractions industry. With community building emerging as a top theme, the sessions provided valuable insights to improve visitor engagement and revenue, all while keeping a visitor-centric approach front and centre.
Here are some highlights from the conference and how these lessons relate to our Visitor Centric Ticketing™ system at Beyonk.
🧠 Harnessing behavioural psychology to build trust and social proof
Alex Caley from Continuum Attractions explained a bit about behavioural economics, also known as “nudge theory”. Within this talk, she explored why the behavioural nudge of social proof works so well - it taps into deep-rooted human psychology to follow the crowd. Instinctively, we tend to think 'if other people are doing it, it must be the right thing to do". It leans into our trust in others' recommendations and our instinct to follow their lead, as well as our desire to fit in and conform.
Using scientific case studies, as well as real-life examples, she shared how using social proof-driven ads featuring genuine user content can lead to a measurable increase in conversions for visitor attractions, outperforming even the most polished content. This shows the power of authenticity in connecting with audiences and driving engagement.
Other behavioural nudges covered:
- Paradox of choice: Too many options overwhelm and paralyse decision-making. Simplifying ticket choices or bundling experiences can boost sales
- Illusion of effort: When visitors see that extra effort was made, even if the experience is unchanged, they value it more. Personalised, heartfelt review requests highlighting the effort made by staff can also increase feedback volume and quality.
Beyonk’s Visitor Centric Ticketing™ embraces these insights by making it simple to showcase social proof at every stage of the customer journey, from featuring real customer reviews and user-generated content to experience groups that simplify choices and reduce decision paralysis. The ultimate aim is to make visitors feel valued and understood, encouraging repeat visits and enthusiastic sharing.
✨ Authenticity over perfection
Digital marketing expert Liz Dimes from Agility Marketing and Laura Baxter from visitor attraction, Blackgang Chine drove home a vital truth: authenticity converts. It’s the real, relatable content that truly resonates and builds trust.
Blackgang Chine has embraced this shift by focusing on building a local community through raw, behind-the-scenes content and genuine staff stories. Their digital-first strategy moves toward authentic moments that visitors can connect with. For example, their “Live with Laura” Facebook sessions give audiences unscripted access to staff personalities and day-to-day happenings at the attraction, fostering a sense of trust. They also collaborate with micro-influencers, further amplifying their local community feel.
This approach aligns with a wider industry trend: visitors crave transparency and honesty, not glossy perfection. Authentic content builds trust, encourages social sharing, and strengthens emotional connections, all critical for long-term visitor loyalty.
At Beyonk, we champion this authenticity by enabling attractions to integrate genuine visitor reviews with user generated content to help build the booking journey. This approach helps create an experience that feels personal and trustworthy, encouraging visitors not just to buy tickets, but to become part of your community.
📹 Cultivating a community with video marketing
Nik Wyness of The Tank Museum demonstrated how video content can cultivate passionate communities that extend far beyond onsite visitors. By consistently producing original, niche-focused videos, they not only engaged a wider audience but also unlocked ecommerce opportunities and diversified their revenue streams. This clearly shows that community building goes well beyond the physical gates of an attraction.
For attractions wondering where to start, Nik’s advice was clear: focus on consistency over perfection. Regular, authentic videos that tap into your niche’s interests build trust and anticipation. Whether it’s short social clips, educational deep dives, or live Q&As, these moments add up to a powerful community-building engine.
At Beyonk, we see huge value in this approach. You can now embed videos directly within your shop, giving you more ways to bring your story to life at the point of purchase. Coupled with our upselling tools, this helps you inspire, inform, and build emotional investment, turning viewers into visitors.
💬 Using feedback to build stories and strengthen community
Castle Howard’s Georgie Sykes shared how immersive storytelling, or “world building,” creates unforgettable visitor experiences that foster emotional connections and repeat visits.
Their Christmas campaigns succeed year after year not only because they’re visually spectacular and meticulously planned, but because they’re rooted in data and community feedback.
Visitors are included from the start. Early-bird announcements, micro-influencer launch events, trailers, and follow-up surveys all play a part. Around 40% of their Christmas bookings come from repeat visitors, showing just how valuable it is to listen. The team engages their superfans early and uses what they learn to keep improving each year.
At Beyonk, we know feedback is a goldmine and not just for improving operations, but for shaping powerful, community-first marketing. That’s why our Visitor Centric Ticketing™ system includes tools to help attractions gather and act on that feedback in meaningful ways.
We send Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys as part of the post-event follow-up, giving you clear insights into how satisfied visitors were and how likely they are to return or recommend your experience to others. These responses go beyond just a number, they highlight customer stories, user-generated content, praise, and frustrations, giving you a valuable library of insights and authentic material. This can inform your next marketing campaign, highlight areas for operational improvement, and provide real visitor stories to amplify your social proof.
Alongside this, our customisable shopping experience surveys let you explore what happens before the visit. These surveys can highlight moments of confusion or friction during the booking process, helping you streamline the journey and maximise conversions.
All this data is collected into our intuitive dashboard that makes it easy to track sentiment, identify trends, and take action, turning feedback into improvements that are visible to your audience.
When visitors feel heard, they’re far more likely to return, recommend, and advocate for your brand.
🤖 Turning AI into a strategic superpower
Ian Miller, CEO of Crafted kicked off the conference with a clear message:
“You don’t need an AI strategy, you need a strategy powered by AI.”
Ian explained how AI tools can streamline marketing tasks and spark creativity, generating video content from photos or automating reporting freeing teams to focus on building relationships with their communities.
Antony Rawlins from Navigate later echoed this in his talk, highlighting AI’s role in scaling smarter systems that improve operational efficiency while boosting social media and SEO efforts.
When used well, AI acts as an extension of the team, not a replacement, helping attractions stay agile and responsive without sacrificing quality or authenticity.
At Beyonk, we see technology as a way to make marketing easier and more effective. Features like automated cart recovery, upselling prompts can help you deliver the right message at the right time, driven by real behaviour, not assumptions.
🚀 Looking ahead… what’s coming next
The biggest takeaway from this year’s National Attractions Marketing Conference? The future of marketing in our sector isn’t about louder campaigns or extra slick content, it’s about building honest, vibrant communities that feel connected, valued, and inspired to return.
That starts by moving away from assumptions and instead prioritising social proof and behavioural insights. Visitors are influenced more by what others say and do than by what you tell them. Embracing behavioural nudges like simplifying choices or showcasing real-time reviews can make a measurable difference in conversion rates and customer satisfaction.
It also means delivering value through storytelling, not slick perfection. The most effective marketing today taps into authentic, relatable moments, whether it’s behind-the-scenes footage, a heartfelt visitor review, or a live Q&A with your team. This kind of content doesn’t just attract attention, it builds a trust and connection for your attraction.
And of course, technology is the enabler that makes all this possible at scale. AI and automation tools allow you to stay agile, amplify your message, and connect deeply with your audience without sacrificing your authenticity.
At Beyonk, we’re fully aligned with this visitor-first direction. That’s why we’re developing a suite of exciting new marketing features designed to help you do just that: showcase user-generated content with ease, spotlight real visitor stories that resonate, and create seamless pathways to encourage repeat bookings and long-term, community-led growth.
To find out more about our new marketing features… get in touch with the team today for a sneak peek.
