The Stage: A colossal slump in group tourist reservations for visits to the UK during next year’s Olympics could have a negative effect on London theatre bookings, the European Tour Operators Association has warned.
An ETOA survey of 28 of its members - which deal with around two million tourists a year between them - has revealed that tourist bookings have been decimated, with an average 90% downturn during the games period next year.
7 comments:
This article makes a very interesting point that has always seemed to allude me. I never realized that hosting the olympics could devastatingly effect the other sources of tourism. One would think that besides the glory of being the nation that gets to host, that the added tourism would be the greatest motivator for hosting.
I wonder what kind of benefits the shows would have from closing during that week rather than attempting to attract tourists.
Out of all the information that this article I think the most surprising news is the extent of the effects, not so much that they exist. I think that I expected that type of outcome, many places are when they host the Olympics because people are there to see the games and ceremonies. Thinking about it, I am a little surprised at how much the theater industry is losing at that time. It makes sense that people, although not intending to go to a show, end up going to a show for entertainment. London's theaters are fairly excellent and they have the reputation to boot, I can't understand why they are about to face a detrimental time. Maybe that's why New York City had never hosted the Olympics. There would be too much going on in a single place. All the entertainment would be competing for the tourists attention and money. Because tourism after all, is the way that cities like London and New York survive. I just didn't know the Olympics in particular would cause so much harm to the theater.
When I started to read this article I totally thought that when Olympics come to town everyone does a lot better. Then after reading more and thinking about it, it is totally right that people are there to see the games and do all of the free things that are going on. This makes other things go by the way side. I have lived in Utah where Sundance happens every year and you would think that would be great for the ski hills but they are dead those few weeks. It is the best time to go and ski with little or no lines. I just wonder if there is anything that the theater community in London can do to get people to go see shows at the time of the Olympics.
I agree that at first I thought the exact same thing! If anything, wouldn't the Olympics expand tourism to an all time high? Now Looking back and relating it back to where I'm from- I realize that whenever there is a major event in Manhattan, Parade, holiday event- I never want to leave Staten Island. The fear of crowds over-rides the desire of being a part of any such event at all! The same goes for crazy black friday- I know that I would never want to go shopping on such a day because there is such a high expectation of people in surrounding shopping centers. Hopefully people won't be to deterred by the crowds at the Olympic games to stop going to the theater, and if so- hopefully there is a reasonable way for such theaters to not lose too much money in ticket sales.
What this article lack was data from other Olympic venues and how they had similar results. Did the Sydney opera house have decreased ticket sales in the summer of 2000? What about Beijing? I do not want to ask about Greece because Greece was a hot mess. My intuition is counter to the data that the ETOA has generated. I cannot imagine with all those people that there would not be some who would want to see a show after a day of watching Olympics. Since I am not a frequent tourist, I would want to see a show since I was in London all ready. I guess I should not dis agree with what the research suggests, I just am skeptical.
In my Marketing class recently, we discussed competition and that companies can see competition from many unforeseen sources. This is a great example. When considering a theater's competitors, it is important to consider all providers of entertainment. It is an encouraging sign that the theater community is working with the organizing committee, the major's office, and the transportation department to make sure that they all capitalize on the opportunities presented by the games. I always feel that groups working together can achieve more effective results than one organization trying to do something by itself.
It would perhaps benefit these theatres to think of unconventional ways to bring in audiences. This might include drastically reduced ticket prices, alternative performance times, and joint marketing with hotels (especially since every hotel room in the city will be booked). I agree with the other commentors here that I am a bit surprised they're expecting such a drastic decline in sales, even given the fact most of the people in town are there for the sporting events. This is why I think altering performance times to coincide with the events of each day might bring in more people. They should probably bring in a couple flatscreens for the lobby too.
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