If there’s one thing we know about events and attractions in a Covid-19 world, it’s that it’s full of known unknowns – particularly when trying to forecast the future. But that doesn’t stop us trying, so Family Tickets thought they’d ask their customers about what was important to them in booking events and attractions after lockdown…
I found the responses surprisingly encouraging. 77% of parents agreed that they were “very keen” to attend and a further 9% were neutral, leaving only 14% who weren’t very keen.
What’s more, 64% of parents said the most important factor determining their plans would be that the government says it’s safe to visit. (It’s worth noting that the survey took place just before the government’s own ratings took a hit over the scandal involving a senior advisor – I’ve been watching this free to access daily tracking survey from Savanta.)
Less surprisingly, being able to find clear information about social distancing at the event and there being a flexible booking policy ranked second and third when families are planning days out. When it comes to flexible booking, 93% felt that it was reasonable to ask them to decide whether they wanted to change their date or take a credit voucher by 9pm the night before the event.
Although families are most keen to return to outdoor attractions, indoor events including soft play and theatre performed unexpectedly strongly.
Overall, some cause for optimism. One of the many things that no-one knows is *when* the government will say it’s safe for events and attractions to reopen, but we can be pretty sure that when the time comes, there will be significant demand in the family market.
We’ll be going back to our customer panel again – if there’s something you’d like to know, please suggest questions for future research in the comments below!
Andrew Collier 
