Christmas marketing for visitor attractions
It's coming up to December. Your to-do list is looking intense and there's a myth that gets louder every year around now.
"Everyone's too busy with Christmas to think about days out. It's too late to market now."
It's wrong. Wonderfully, beautifully wrong.
Families are searching right now
Our Great Days Out Survey found that nearly two thirds of families decide on a day out within a fortnight. 30.2% plan just a few days ahead.
So the families who will visit between Christmas and New Year? Most of them haven't decided yet. They're Googling "things to do over the Christmas holidays", "open on Boxing Day near me" and "where to take the kids between Christmas and New Year". They need an escape from the sofa slump, plans for visiting grandparents and something to do with children who are climbing the walls.
December isn't too late. For a lot of your visitors, it's exactly the right time.
What's happening in December
Gift vouchers are flying- last-minute present panic makes experience vouchers a hero gift. If you're not promoting yours, someone else is getting that sale.
Festive break visitors need things to do; your attraction is the answer to "what shall we do today?" But only if people can see that you're open.
January is being decided - families with time off in early January are making plans while they're thinking about it. Show up now and you're on their list.
Winter marketing activities for attractions
Make your gift vouchers easy to buy and impossible to miss, on your website and your socials.
Shout about your festive opening hours, everywhere, including your Google listing.
Send a simple "here's what's on over the festive break" email to your list.
Keep posting through December, because when competitors go quiet, you'll be the one people see.
A gift for January-you
Here's the other myth the busy winter period whispers: "I'll sort my marketing in January when things calm down."
January doesn't calm down. So be kind to January-you. Before you break up:
Schedule a couple of weeks of January social posts.
Draft and schedule your new year "what's on" email.
Take the Christmas messaging off your website the moment it's over and add your January opening hours.
Make sure gift vouchers are easy to redeem.
Screenshot your December analytics.
Put 90 minutes in the diary for mid-January to plan the quarter ahead.
It takes an hour now, or a week of panic later.
Need a hand before the break?
We can help you get your festive and January marketing in place, from quick plans to capture last-minute bookings to email campaigns and social content that keep you visible while you enjoy some time off.
Get in touch and let's make January your best start yet.
This blog started life as a Friday Funk, our weekly myth-busting email for visitor attractions. Join the Friday Funk list here.