Coming up to the end of July as I write this, and we're once again baking through our 4th heat wave of the year here in the UK.

It got me thinking about how attractions need to adjust their messaging, their products, and their approach as this weather becomes the new normal. We can see average UK temperatures have been increasing year on year, as climate change starts to have more of an impact.

This was really brought home to me when I was in Paris on holiday a few weeks back, queuing for the Eiffel Tower with the 2 children in 37 degree heat.

Now 37 degree heat and blistering sun are not ideal visitor conditions for visiting any attraction, unless it's indoors with really good air con!

But here we were, in Paris, with no choice.

We'd already booked the tickets.

We were locked in.

If we didn't go, we'd have either lost the slot or lost the money. So we had to just deal with it, and turn it into as good a visit as we could.

Now it helps that Paris has water fountains, misters and plenty of shade - it's much more geared up to cope in the heat. But I think there are some lessons for UK attractions as this becomes more of the new normal.

We can't just keep hoping for better weather.

We need to adapt.

This year the weather is tougher so far than last year, and all indicuations are that it's only going to get more unsettled and more extreme.

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Now or Never - Scarcity and Exclusivity

So I was thinking, in the queue at the Eiffel Tower - what am I doing, standing here absolutely melting under the heat?

And I think it came down to a few things.

1. bucket list - it's an absolute must-see in the city, a now-or-never experience.
2. scarcity of the tickets - because it's so scarce and exclusive, we had to book, and if we didn't go, we'd have missed out
3. time - we were only in Paris for a week. If we didn't go then, it would be ages until we were back in the city.

So this is potentially one route for attractions: creating extra special events, extra special memories, upsells, and must-sees that you can't get anywhere else. You may not be the Eiffel Tower, you may not be that one must-see attraction in your area or in the country, but you can still think about exclusive events and programming to bring your attraction to life. Special events, special packages, discounts, time-limited offers, or special bundles all bring more value to the experience.

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OK Neil, but we're not the Eiffel Tower

Sure, I hear you.

Most attractions don't quite have the pull of the Eiffel Tower.

If you can't lean into creating more exclusive one-off experiences and packages (and I think all attractions can do this to some extent) then the other lever you can pull is flexibility.

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Use Flexibility To Turn The Weather Into More Revenue, rather than Less

Guests are willing to pay a premium for flexibility. Whether that's multi-visit passes, time limited annual passes, or cancellation insurance.

It's a quick win to add packages to your website that unlock more flexibility for your guests - as an attraction you can still lock in the revenue.

It's about turning the weather into a revenue opportunity rather than losing out.

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Where does that leave us for Summer? Well with the weather, challenging economy and all the other factors at play, I think it's high risk to rely on visitors just turning up and buying typical standard day tickets. There are 2 levers to get you through a heat wave.

Choose - are you leaning on exclusivity or flexibility. Add a sprinkling of special offers or upgrades and you'll be well positioned for success.

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Other website quick wins

Finally if you do have heatwave-proof areas in your attraction, shout about it online.

Make sure if you've got air-conditioned areas or shaded areas, you're showing those off online, right from the outset.

We were chatting in the office, and all the guys with young kids said they'd literally have gone anywhere with air conditioning for some relief.

So make sure you're shouting about everything you've got that helps visitors have a great day out, whatever the weather.

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