What else might help?
There are ways in which people believe that Wildwalk and At-Bristol is perhaps not making the most of its potential – in terms of generating more revenue, and attracting more, and importantly more repeat visitors. People are asking why At-Bristol has not apparently actively tried some other strategies of attracting more visitors or generating more revenue before they close Wildwalk…
Admission fees
Explore and the Planetarium are to stay, and Wildwalk and the IMAX are to close, as they are apparently ‘less popular with the public’. Many people feel strongly that this is due to the admission fee. When people choose between Wildwalk and Explore (which most people do, if they only have one morning or afternoon to spend), they will inevitably pick Explore as better value for money, due to the interactive nature of the exhibits which will engage children for longer periods.
If the problem is financial, it is hard to understand why At-Bristol have not tried the obvious: reducing the admission fees – at least for local residents – which for Wildwalk are currently £8 for an adult, £6 for a child. Many people find this too expensive for an hour or two’s visit (especially for families, who are often on a tight budget); they feel that to justify spending this much money, they need to be there for a whole day, and may not have that amount of time to spend there.
Season tickets for locals as a possible solution to this
One theory that has been suggested as to the high admission prices is that At-Bristol need to make the most of the tourist income. In this case, perhaps an idea would be to also offer cheaper ‘season tickets’ to local residents (as an alternative to membership – which is a large amount for many people to pay in one go) to encourage them to come more regularly. A season ticket specific to Wildwalk could be purchased for a couple of months, for a very small price (say £3), which would allow them to get in for half price every time they visited. If the price was nearer £3 or £4 for local residents, perhaps more local people would visit on a regular basis, and this promotional admission fee would generate a significant addition to the tourist revenue. If you have thoughts on this that you would like to share, please have your say.
Provision of a better café
Some people have also commented on the quality of the café situated within the Wildwalk/IMAX buildings. It seems that there is an ideal opportunity being missed that could generate some of the shortfall in income. As one local has put it,“The café at At-Bristol has always been extremely poor, providing low quality meals, when it should have been a flagship for good value, organic, fresh food.” Another’s thoughts are: “A decent café in THAT location should be packed with families eating out, whether or not they have visited the attractions. We often head down that way (either by ourselves or with other families) and it wouldn’t occur to me to suggest going there to eat. We normally end up at BQ because of the quality of their food rather than family friendly layout and I believe that somewhere that offers decent food and a family friendly layout would be overwhelmed at weekends.”
A permanent play area
The current ‘In the Jungle’ exhibition/play area, aimed at the under-eights, very successfully fills a gap in the market in the town centre, i.e. there really are no safe play areas for young children in walking distance of Broadmead. Since the promotion began, it has proved extremely popular. ‘In the Jungle’ is, however, only a temporary exhibition. Perhaps there is an opportunity for a permanent and exciting nature-themed Play Zone for young children within Wildwalk, which might then encourage more repeat visits from local parents and children, especially if combined with lower admission prices (perhaps in the form of the season ticket for locals suggested above). A notable successful example of a play area which people pay to use is Avon Valley Country Park’s Play Barn, which is apparently profitable even in the low season. Children love it, and parents will happily spend the £3.50 to let their children play happily and safely for an hour or two. Obviously exciting play areas need initial funding, so perhaps Bristol City Council’s department for children’s services and/or the Regional Development Agency might consider funding such a play area – where else is there currently in the town centre, to take those fractious toddlers to let off steam during a long day’s shopping? – and situating it in Wildwalk? This would potentially solve two problems in one go – provide the much needed town centre play area, and generate more traffic to Wildwalk – and make a lot of people very happy if it meant Wildwalk could be saved.
So what do you think? What other things might encourage you to visit more often? Let us know what you think