Walk into almost any visitor attraction and you’re likely to be greeted by something that feels oddly timeless: a pricing board that hasn’t changed since the Blair years. Adult. Child. Family. Concession. Maybe a membership. It’s tidy. It’s familiar. And it’s almost entirely out of step with how people actually buy experiences today.

Whether operators realise it or not, visitors aren’t purchasing one product. They’re buying two. There’s the everyday, frictionless utility visit, and the story-worthy, emotionally charged memory experience. Most attractions price, market and design as if only one exists, and that’s becoming a strategic liability.

Think about your local park. It thrives on utility: it’s always there, always free, woven into the rhythm of everyday life. A pushchair lap around it on a wet Tuesday. A quick post-school stop to let the kids burn off steam. A reliable backdrop to ordinary days.

Now think about live music. The real value isn’t in the utility of access (Spotify handles that for £9.99 a month). The magic is in the big night out. The gig you talk about for years. The ticket you keep. The merch you wear threadbare. The moment.

Visitor attractions live in both worlds, whether they acknowledge it or not. The utility product is the bread-and-butter. Local repeat visits, memberships, casual entries, the kind of usage that creates habits and anchors venues in people’s daily lives. The memory product is the scarce, premium, hosted experience, the lantern-lit trail, the behind-the-scenes tour, the “I can’t believe we did that” day that becomes family folklore.

The best operators understand this duality and design accordingly. Too many, though, are stuck in the beige middle: neither meaningfully embedded in visitors’ routines, nor delivering exceptional, premium moments. That’s a dangerous place to be.

Utility isn’t glamorous, but it’s foundational. Supermarkets, gyms, garden centres (no offence). It’s about ease, convenience and repeatability. Digital ticketing that works without friction. Membership or loyalty schemes that feel like obvious value, not a spreadsheet exercise. Entry that’s quick enough to make a short visit feel worthwhile.

For families, utility often means accessibility, being able to drop in after school, pop by on a weekend, or use a space for an hour without the sense of “wasting” a day ticket. For locals, it’s about familiarity; the venue becomes part of their personal geography, like the library or the park.

The sector has long paid lip service to this, but structurally, many attractions make utility visits unnecessarily hard. Confusing membership offers. Booking systems that require a PhD to book a slot. Queues that would make Heathrow blush. And, most critically, pricing models that treat every visit as if it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event, rather than part of someone’s Tuesday routine.

Then there’s memory. This is where scarcity, storytelling and emotional impact create real value. It’s hosted, personal, and distinctive. It might only happen once or twice a year, but visitors are willing to pay for significance.

In many attractions, “premium” currently means “the same thing but with fairy lights and a 20% price increase”. That’s not a premium offer; that’s seasonal lighting. True memory products feel different. They’re carefully designed to be scarce, immersive, and emotionally resonant. A well-crafted behind-the-scenes tour. A night-time event that transforms the space. An encounter that makes people say “we’ll never forget that”.

This is where attractions compete not with each other, but with live music, immersive theatre, city breaks and high-end dining. If the extraordinary isn’t extraordinary, people will simply spend their premium pounds elsewhere.

When attractions treat utility and memory as a single, undifferentiated product, they end up underserving both audiences. Locals feel overcharged for their casual repeat visits. Occasion-seekers feel underwhelmed when their ‘big moment’ is priced like a treat but delivered like a Tuesday.

Blanket price hikes exacerbate this. When the base price for casual visits rises to subsidise half-hearted seasonal events, operators alienate their most loyal, habitual audiences, the very people who sustain the organisation week in, week out. Conversely, when “premium” is delivered with the same operational mindset as standard entry, it feels like poor value. Both groups leave slightly disappointed, and neither becomes an advocate we all crave.

Designing for two products

The solution isn’t too complicated, but it does require a mindset shift. Attractions need to publish a clear utility offer and build a distinct, credible premium tier, then structure their marketing and pricing accordingly. Great thanks Olly, a vague sounding sentence of advice, fine, I’ll explain! 

1. Make utility frictionless

Utility should be fast, easy and transparent. Digital ticketing with instant entry. Local passes or memberships that make popping in a no-brainer. Queue times reduced, not tolerated. Clear communication that encourages casual, frequent use rather than treating each visit as a major life decision. Your mid-week, off-peakers. This doesn’t just build revenue, it builds routine. And routine builds loyalty. These are the audiences that’ll bring their friends and family who are visiting for the holidays. They’ll show you off to others; these are your tribe.

2. Design a premium tier that feels premium

This means more than just upselling. It’s about crafting hosted, scarce experiences that feel like privileges. Limited capacity tours. After-hours access. Keepsakes that are worth keeping. Storytelling layers that deepen emotional connection. Done well, a well-designed premium tier can see around a quarter of visitors choosing to upgrade. Not because they’re forced to, but because they want to be part of something special.

3. Split your marketing 

Different products mean different audiences. Utility messaging should focus on ease, locality, and everyday value, targeting repeat visitors with calm, confident clarity. Memory messaging should lean into emotion, storytelling, scarcity and impact, the “book now before it’s gone” energy. Using the same creative to sell both is like advertising a Michelin-starred tasting menu with a meal deal flyer. Both are important products, but different audiences for different occasions.

4. Ditch blanket price strategies 

Stop flattening everything with across-the-board price hikes or panicked discounts. I know, it’s hard, and I’ve been there. Looking for a £1 on all tickets, or discounts for holidays in the hope it’ll help. And it might in the short-term, but long term things are different. Keep utility pricing steady and accessible, while layering value and price into the premium tier. This preserves brand integrity and protects both audiences.