Face to Face: Natascha Crump, Ripleys Believe It or Not! London
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We speak to Natascha Crump, general manage at Ripleys Believe It or Not! London on the attraction, the future and the Olympics…
There is a misconception or misunderstanding amongst some people as to what Ripleys! is, can you provide an overview?
Our attraction is not well known for what it holds; it is often described as a mixture of the Tate Modern and Natural History Museum with a fun element.
There are 700 pieces from Sir Ripley’s collection and what we have gathered now. Within it we embrace the quirky and unusual with an appreciation of diversities.
We try to evoke that “I never knew that” or “is it real?” reaction, similar to a history lesson but more fun, as people do not realise we have artefacts like a part of the Berlin Wall. We are a visitor attraction and not a museum as there are also our interactive elements like the laser race.
Ripleys! London is in fact the largest in the world over six floors. Some do not know that we open until 10.30pm and are open 365 days a year, even on Christmas Day.
There have been some new appointments to your trade team recently, what is your UK travel trade strategy?
We are in the early stages of our work with the trade but we had a good foundation to build upon. There are a whole list of benefits for them and we have been recruiting more to the team so our trade partners have the support.
There is a real focus on domestic and inbound and a clear strategy to develop an organic base of B2B product and partners and we want more pre-booking.
We are also working with our neighbouring partners such as Planet Hollywood and theatre partners to discuss putting packages together.
We are taking pieces out to exhibitions and trade shows now such as World Travel Market so our trade partners can get more of a feel for what we do. It’s a ‘see for yourself’ product and with our B2B initiatives it is all about bringing people in. There are a number of tours and fams in place for agents and we will be looking at not just families but group travel, corporate groups and student groups.
What development plans are in place for the attraction?
More interactive presentations such as video will be used more, perhaps showing how an artist made a particular piece or adding some depth.
In the US there is currently some technology which is being tested that could bring more interactivity here but we will have to see if that comes here after Easter (but pre-summer). We base our development on what Ripley would find today in his travels and this could be an exciting step change for us. Otherwise there are now more events in place for occasions like Mother’s Day, Easter and Christmas.
There are lots of aspirations for this year and there will be a new partnership from April that will really help us embrace 2013.
Finally, how did the Olympics impact your 2012 and are you confident for the year?
The Olympics has been popular for us and we had a new area that displayed our collection of more than 30 torches which was of interest to visitors. Lots of people came here who didn’t have tickets so they could still get that experience and generally from last year the response from ‘Brand Britain’ has been phenomenal and could not have asked for better PR. Attractions are more optimistic this year.
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