Museums as Anchoring Elements of Tourist Destinations

Abstract

Objectives | Museums are spaces for tourist enjoyment, and as such, tourists seek experiences that go far beyond the cultural and educational functions, such as co-creation activities, and interactive multisensorial experiences (Carvalho & Duarte, 2021). In this context, in many destinations, museum visits are not the main reason for tourist travel. On the other hand, there are destinations like Bilbao that have created a destination tourism marketing strategy centred around a museum (Kotler, 2015). In this sense, the present study aims to analyze whether museums can be anchor elements of destinations, with the visit to the museum being the main motivation for tourist travel and leading to destination development.

Methodology | To achieve this, the present work focused on analyzing comments on the TripAdvisor platform by visitors, totalling the analysis of 7821 comments (1780 Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, 343 La Cité du Vin, and 5698 Madame Tussauds London). However, to address the objective and considering the diversity of museums, we also intend to contribute to the discussion of this topic by applying the "Business Model Canvas" model (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010) to the following museums: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, La Cité du Vin (Bordeaux), and Madame Tussauds London, based on the analyzed comments.

Key Results and Contributions | After analyzing the comments, it was found that both the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and La Cité du Vin visitors mainly highlight the architecture. Considering the origin of the comments, the majority of customers are European, but internal demand is also significant. However, the appreciation of the experience is common to these museums. Visitors consider them immersive, praising the quality of wax sculptures and the history of London at Madame Tussauds London, the design and sculptures of dogs and flowers (tulips) at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, and the sensory experience of the world of wine at La Cité du Vin. Despite the differences between museums in functionality, theme, and architecture, the "value proposition" for visitors is the strategic foundation, creating differentiated and immersive experiences as attraction factors. This allows destination managers to understand that museums can be anchors of tourist destinations and drivers of territorial development, provided the business model prioritizes the quality of the experience, design, and an engaging theme. The museums' sales and communication channels are similar, including presence on social networks, official websites, and ticket sales through partners such as travel agencies. Regarding "customer relations," interaction mainly occurs during ticket acquisition, but some museums, like La Cité du Vin and Madame Tussauds London, adopt registration strategies on platforms to share photos and updates. Revenues come from ticket and souvenir sales in all museums, but Madame Tussauds London also generates revenue from a bar, 3D cinema access, and photos with wax figures of the royal family. La Cité du Vin generates extra revenue with specialized wine tastings, wine sales, training, and space rentals, while Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and La Cité du Vin have restaurants. Key resources include knowledge and technology in thematic areas to enhance attraction in museum spaces. Key activities vary among museums, but the immersive experience is the common point, highlighting activities such as observing dogs and flowers at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the sense of smell and wine tastings at La Cité du Vin, and visits and photos with wax figures at Madame Tussauds London. Key partners include artists at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, wine producers at La Cité du Vin, and wax figure sculptors at Madame Tussauds London, with municipalities and tourist agents being key partners in all of them. Costs involve maintenance, security, human resources, promotion/advertising, service payments, and the acquisition of new attractions, among others. Finally, it is worth mentioning that La Cité du Vin and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao are the most visited places in their destinations, indicating that they function as anchor resources for the destinations. However, despite being among the most visited places according to reviews on the platform, Madame Tussauds London is not the first or only highlighted tourist attraction in London, so it cannot be stated that it is an anchor product for the destination.

Limitations | The main limitation is the inability to conduct surveys of visitors, analyzing in more detail the factors of tourist attractiveness for each visitor segment. On the other hand, it would be interesting to verify from museum managers the strategies they consider to be followed by museums and whether they see them as anchor factors for destinations.

Conclusions | Museums can be anchor elements of tourist destinations; however, not all museums can achieve this. To do so, their strategy must have attractiveness as its main foundation. In this sense, factors such as theme, architecture, and experiences play a fundamental role. In this context, any destination can include a museum anchor in its tourism development strategy.