Interpretation and tourism

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It can be hard to understand a country as a visitor.  Some parts of national history, usually the highs and lows, are so well known by the natives that they need no explanation.  These parts of the heritage, arguably the ones that matter most, that give the most insight, can be hard for tourists to […]

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Happy visitors, preferably lots of them, are essential to success at almost all heritage attractions. Whether your goal is to make money or to turn hearts and minds to a conservation cause, the happiness of your visitors is a vital first step.  A basic (at least) understanding of visitor motivations is essential to that. But […]

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Holiday snaps. Snippets of experience. Souvenirs. Keepsakes. Momentos. Capturing the historic city of Lucca, Tuscany, Italy  Making an album. A record. Telling a story. A story of a place and my experience in it. All around us, wherever we go, people are snapping and whirring. Catching the moment. Seizing the (holiday) day. Those of us […]

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Interpreters can learn a lot from other forms of cultural communication – like Olympic opening ceremonies. So  what can we glean from Danny Boyle, the guy who created the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony?  This is what he had to say about the process of trying to introduce contemporary Britain to the world.. (If that link […]

Why tourism matters to heritage attractions – interesting stuff from the Tourism Society Conference

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I am on the train on the way back from The Tourism Society Conference.  It was very good day, packed with information including a refreshing amount of numerical data based on real research and proficient number crunching. Obviously, I was looking out for things that might inform our work with heritage and countryside attractions and […]

6 heritage attractions that taught me the Irish history I needed to know

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Heritage sites can be good, powerful and human places to encounter and understand the important people and events that have shaped a country’s past and present. I believe they have a particularly important  role for international visitors. I have been immensely blessed to work regularly in Ireland over the last four years.  I have fallen […]

Could your ‘thing’ become a successful heritage attraction? Part 2

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“Not everyone is like you, they do not all share your passion’. That’s are hard thing for us all.  What we love to talk about most might be boring to everyone around us. We are back again to that tricky penny dropper for heritage interpreters, attraction managers etc: ‘You are not doing this for yourself […]

Could your ‘thing’ become a successful heritage attraction? Part 1

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You almost certainly passionate about your ‘thing’. That’s great and just as it should be.  But don’t let your love blind you. One of the joys of my work is to meet people who are totally fired up by their ‘thing’ The objects of their delight are often things that the rest of us don’t […]

“If you don’t tell us your stories, how will we hear them?”

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Visiting Ireland regularly has involved me, and some of my clients, in interesting discussions about Anglo-Irish history. This invariably involves the English/British behaving badly (to say the least) when overseas. Some of it has left me shocked to the core. In particular we have talked and thought long and hard about what to say to […]