Castle Howard is a stunning stately home in rural North Yorkshire, designed by Sir John Vanbrugh back in 1699 for the third Earl of Carlisle. Since the 50s, Castle Howard has been a visitor attraction, welcoming around 300,000 visitors a year.

In todays podcast, we’ll hear from Abbigail Ollive, Head of Marketing as she shares with us a beautiful story, of how China fell in love with the Castle, and how one wedding started a chain reaction of incredible events leading them to increase overseas visitors to around 60%.

Castle Howard was one of the first attractions in the UK to install the WeChat pay solutions across shops, restaurants, ticket office and we’ll hear all about the challenges, success and specialist they worked with to make that happen.

It’s a wonderful example of how implementing small things can make huge differences to a visitors experience, and we know you’ll learn a lot from their unique story.

A few things we discussed:

1. The importance of understanding our audience and catering specifically for their needs
2. If it’s difficult to integrate WeChat and Alipay for Chinese visitors
3. How to create a digital guest experience that’s second to none
4. Why you need to be proactive in changing and adapting your marketing strategy
5. Why you need to work with sector specialists
6. How empowering your front of house team to be super helpful creates the ultimate experience for your guests

We hope you enjoy!

Show references:

https://www.castlehoward.co.uk/

https://www.digipanda.co.uk/

https://www.wechat.com/en/

https://intl.alipay.com/

https://www.capelatraining.com/china/

https://www.globepay.co/

https://www.ukinbound.org/

https://www.visitbritain.com/gb/en

https://www.etoa.org/

The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! 

• Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industry
• Gain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion rates
• Explore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performance
• Learn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion rates
• Uncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversions

Take the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report
 

Today’s guest started his career at just 15 years old - since then, he’s gone on to build a thriving entertainment business, consisting of indoor leisure units, laser arenas, day nurseries, plus a 50-acre farm attraction, water park and web-based soft toy business!

We’re talking to the multi-talented and hugely successful James Sinclair - otherwise known as “Jimbo the Partyman”.

His hard work and passion for putting smiles on people’s faces has won him many awards, including Young Entrepreneur of the Year and Growing Business of the Year.

He’s also a published author whose book “The Millionaire Clown” details his journey from a teenage children’s entertainer to multiple business owner, turning 8 figures and employing over 300 staff.

Just a head’s up, we experienced a few technical difficulties on this recording, but James’ story is pretty engaging, so you probably won’t notice!

Just a few of the things we talk about:

1. The importance of creating content and building an audience
2. How to build a leisure business that’s not weather dependant
3. James’ five P’s formula for business success
4. The difference between good leadership and good management
5. Why you need to invest in customer service
6. The number 1 driver for creating a great customer experience

We hope you enjoy!

Show references:

https://jamessinclair.net/
https://jamessinclair.net/millionaire-clown
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTm2gK928YuBSEU0lvdFJoA

The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! 

• Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industry
• Gain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion rates
• Explore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performance
• Learn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion rates
• Uncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversions

Take the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report
 

Andy White is the king of “Themed Experiential Entertainment” - the process of bringing Brands and IP’s to life with big ideas and innovative technology, creating something that customers will enjoy and remember forever.

His agency, Andy White Creative, uses skill and expertise to create entertaining and memorable experiences for all kinds of visitor attractions including; theme parks, resorts and retail destinations. He’s worked on some incredible projects including CBeebies Land Hotel, The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure and Sid’s Arctic Tours Ice Age Adventure.

We learnt loads about Andy’s process in this podcast and we talked a lot about how design really needs to emotionally connect to the target audience to create a positive visitor experience.

Andy is exhibiting at the Family Attraction Expo on the 6th and 7th of November 2019 - find him at stand FM 2350.

• What’s involved in the process of bringing experiences to life - how to turn an intangible idea into a practical reality
• How creating fantastic experiences translates into increased ticket sales
• Theme books - what are they and how do they help?
• How to entertain guests in queues
• The secret formula to great storytelling
• And more

The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! 

• Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industry
• Gain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion rates
• Explore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performance
• Learn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion rates
• Uncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversions

Take the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report
 

In this episode, we speak to Tor and Christian Carver, the founders of William’s Den - a unique adventure attraction in East Yorkshire.

Five years ago, Tor and Christian constructed a plan to create a visitor attraction that offered children, and adults, the freedom to roam and play.

The duo both grew up on farms and took inspiration from the time they spent endlessly exploring pastures, building dens and using their wild imaginations to entertain themselves.

Since its opening in 2017, William’s Den has gained plenty of admirers and recognition. They were regional finalists in The Rural Business Awards North - and winners in the Remarkable East Yorkshire Tourism Awards (REYTA) and the RICS Awards (which showcase the most inspirational initiatives and developments in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure).

What will you learn from this podcast?

The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! 

• Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industry
• Gain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion rates
• Explore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performance
• Learn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion rates
• Uncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversions

Take the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report
 

We speak to Lynn Whitnall - she's the Director of Paradise Wildlife Park, a Fellow of the Institute of Travel & Tourism and she also sits on the council of the British & Irish Association of Zoos & Aquariums (BIAZA).

Paradise Wildlife Park is a much-loved and highly esteemed venue that’s home to over 800 animals, including the largest collection of big cats in Britain. As well as wallabies, wolves and white lions, they also have five adventure playgrounds and one of the UK's biggest and most spectacular animatronic dinosaur displays.

They’ve recently completed Drive4Wildlife - an epic adventure around East Africa where they donated funds and equipment to several projects along the way, including the African Wildlife Foundation and Ugandan Wildlife Education Centre.

What will you learn from this podcast?

The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! 

• Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industry
• Gain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion rates
• Explore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performance
• Learn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion rates
• Uncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversions

Take the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report
 

We’re speaking to James Ducker, the founder of CryptX Escape Rooms based in Cambridge.

James worked in banking for many years - he was at HBOS during the crash and became a whistleblower when he grew disillusioned with the financial sector.

In the summer of 2016, James took a family holiday to Barcelona, his children were eight, eleven, and sixteen at the time. Sick of hearing "Dad, we're bored" - James booked an escape room in the heart of the city, a move that would subsequently change his entire career from banking to escape room founder.

What will you learn from this podcast?

The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! 

• Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industry
• Gain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion rates
• Explore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performance
• Learn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion rates
• Uncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversions

Take the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report