On January 14 and 15, the Cultural and Tourist Experience Show Museum Connectionswhich attracted over 380 exhibitors. The event featured 61 conferences with over 176 speakers. Bringing together and federating the cultural and tourism community, 6208 visitors strolled through the two-day show, which focused on innovative new trends and contemporary museum topics, divided into three sectors: Tech (equipment, technologies and innovation), Shop (products, trends and inspiration) and Life (engineering, services and consulting).
During the show, fifteen pairs of cultural venues and their partners presented inspiring feedback. Three main themes were discussed: immersive experiences, the collection and analysis of key data concerning audiences and their uses, and augmented digital mediation. Indeed, collaboration between innovative players and cultural institutions has become an increasingly attractive way of calling on external expertise, showcasing one’s venue to the public, and thus pooling a project’s chances of success.
- How can we create more immersive visitor experiences? A topic addressed by feedback from the city of Saint-Lô with Timescope, the city of Grenoble with Losonnante and the Notre-Dame-de-bon-port church in Nantes with Immersia Production and Fever.
- How can we improve visitor data collection and feedback throughout the visit? Inspiring examples from Château de Chantilly with Arenametrix, Pop-Corn Labyrinthe with Qweekle, Nausicaá with My People Counter, Westtoer with Lean Mean Learning Machine, L’Alhambra with Tickamore and Grotte Cosquer with Sycomore and Vox city.
- How can games and scenarization become a means of creating links between visitors and the site? The Palais Garnier with Cultival, the Vals du Dauphiné with Explor Games® and the Château d’Angers with BlinkBook animated coloring put their work into perspective to answer these questions.
1. Preserving and sharing the past through collective memory and play
Among the various projects presented, several duos highlighted the potential offered by digital technology to create immersive experiences, reconstitute a vanished past or restore the memory and commemoration of events in all their components: historical, emotional or cognitive. To bring memory back to life, several institutions have turned to technological approaches: more creative, more emotional and more involving, immersion is a solution envisaged as a means of reviving parts of history or attracting visitors.
1.1 Honouring and commemorating
As part of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in June 2024, the town of Saint Lô, with the support of the Groupement d’Intérêt Public “Mission Libération”, wanted to create an immersive experience to recreate the state of the town at the end of the Liberation, a veritable “capital of ruins” as evoked by Samuel Beckett. The city was razed to the ground by the bombing raids of June 1944. To bring this painful memory to life on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the Liberation, the Timescope creative studio was invited to create a 360° experience, with headphones, of life in the town of Saint-Lô before and after the bombings. The result of meticulous scientific work, this experience was then showcased on June 5 during the commemoration of the events on the occasion of the visit of the President of the Republic. Over 1,200 people were able to immerse themselves in the past throughout the day (30 helmets were available to accommodate over 200 people per hour). In view of this success, the town of Saint-Lô is keen to make the experience a permanent one.
Another approach implemented at the 80ème anniversary, the city of Grenoble, which, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of theème anniversary of the liberation of the city of Grenoble on August 22, 1944, wanted to create a project in these different libraries by calling on sound immersion. Given the importance of the event for the city and its involvement in the Resistance and the Liberation (Grenoble is a Companion of the Liberation), the municipality has decided to mark this commemoration over 3 years (2024-2026). mobilizing more than 12 municipal libraries and a range of partnerses (some thirty memorial associations are present in the area, as well as the Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation d’Isère) were particularly mobilized to design this project and collect testimonies. To carry out this project, the town also turned to the Grenoble-based company Losonnante, which markets an immersive solution for listening to sound via bone conduction using a system of terminals. The experience desired by the city was co-constructed with the various libraries to provide consultation and exhibition areas dedicated to the Liberation in these different locations. To animate these spaces, 2 terminals have been made available to the libraries to offer the public the chance to listen to testimonies in a format more conducive to a more intimate and collected listening experience. These kiosks are on tour in the various libraries, enabling the town to support the commemoration.
These projects clearly demonstrate that a more sensory approach to memorial subjects can be an excellent way of supporting the remembrance and dissemination of major historical events through the use of technology, while respecting the scientific rigor that provides new keys to understanding their territory and their audiences.
1.2 Providing new ways of discovering a region’s built heritage through artistic digital experiences
The revitalization of a site and the enhancement of its heritage through the use of other forms of artistic and cultural creativity are challenges that can also be met by digital and immersive projects and experiences.
Such is the case, for example, with the collaboration between Immersia Productions and Fever at the Église Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Port in Nantes. The fruit of a meeting and a love affair with the site, a sound and light show was born of this collaboration. Following a 3D scan of the church in March 2024, a residency lasting several weeks led to the creation of a 45-minute show highlighting the church’s various chapels and its central nave. Launched in November 2024, this project, imagined to participate in the church’s outreach, also found its communication and visibility power thanks to Fever, a ticketing and marketplace platform. Working in partnership with Fever, the church’s visibility has been increased through social networks (Facebook), a website, paid advertising, and actions based on data collected by Fever and its ticketing service. In January, 25,000 visitors were already welcomed to discover the show.
Other approaches, in the form of outdoor trails, can also facilitate the discovery of a region’s rich history, nature and heritage. Explor Games®, for example, has developed a puzzle game for the Vals du Dauphiné, the Intri’guiers, using kiosks and a digital tablet. The game is a fun way of highlighting a local historical figure, while learning anecdotes about the various places explored in the Pont-de-Beauvoisin area. Since its launch, over 1,000 games have already been played. The audience is mostly families, but the experience is above all there to be shared. The game serves as a learning tool.
The challenges of experiments, whether educational, artistic or aesthetic, require a fine balance between scientific rigor and concern for the public and their practices. This fortuitous encounter encourages the enhancement of heritage, places and territories. Other approaches can be used to enrich the links between the public and heritage, in particular by using games and storytelling.
1.3 Immersion through scripting and gameplay
As an alternative means of visiting, games are a tool for creating more direct interaction with the public, thanks to a range of playful elements facilitated by digital technology, but also by other material or human approaches. This is the case, for example, with Blink book, a drawing book for cultural venues that provides access to a range of activities via an application. The principle is simple: the child colors a drawing in the notebook, scans it from the Blink Book application and then animates the colored drawing to tell a story, in which the child assumes a role by recording his or her voice to answer questions. It is in this context that Blink Book has developed a collaboration with the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, the DRAC and the City of Angers to develop a publishing project based around the Apocalypse tapestry at the Château d’Angers (a tapestry which will become a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023). The various partners pre-purchased 700 copies of this 16-page book, which was then sold for €15 or given away to visitors to the town and the château. This publication has thus enabled us to develop an educational tool to prepare a visit to the Château d’Angers at school, to enrich the visit in situ and to extend the experience by offering the possibility of returning home with this beautiful object. A tool that contributes to enriching the visit experience at every stage, creating a beautiful continuum at the crossroads of physical and digital mediation.
In addition to transmission through play, immersive scenarization can also be deployed in other, more theatrical approaches, at the crossroads of live performance, heritage and digital technology. This is the case with life-size immersive games, Arsène Lupin et le secret de l’Opéra deployed by Cultival at the Opéra national de Paris. With a view to attracting new audiences (the Opéra is expected to welcome 1.2 million visitors in 2023) and developing its own resources, the Opéra was particularly keen to set up this game (a 5-year service delegation contract was signed). To bring this project to life, Cultival co-designed the visit with the Opéra, and enlisted the help of a narrative designer to refine the game mechanics and scenarization. In addition, the Opéra’s costume workshops and the Berthier workshops were called upon to dress the various actors. In this way, through a series of enigmas in the Palais Garnier’s emblematic and exclusive spaces, the visit plays on both the prestige of the venue and the exclusivity offered by the game. Closely linked to the programming of this performing arts venue, the immersion is carried out by 12 actors in an interactive strolling tour (1h30 – maximum 60 players). This type of immersion encourages interaction not only between players, but also with the actors, to enhance a moment of sharing and conviviality. To date, more than 150,000 visitors have discovered the Opéra thanks to this original tour (including 35% of young audiences). With the Palais Garnier approaching its 150th anniversary, and after several years in operation, the show will be further optimized to continue this fruitful collaboration between heritage discovery and live performance.
New links are being forged between cultural venues and their audiences through these different experiences, which contribute to enriching and enhancing the visitor experience. To get to know audiences better, communicate more effectively, identify new practices or optimize a venue’s activities, collecting and analyzing data on visitors to a venue or their uses is another key issue that was particularly highlighted at the latest edition of Museum Connections.
2. Collect data and opinions to improve the visitor experience
With a view to optimizing their activities, more and more cultural and tourist sites are collecting data on their audiences and their uses, with the visitor increasingly at the heart of their concerns. This data can be used to manage and optimize visitor flows, improve communication, measure visitor satisfaction and contribute to their development and well-being.
2.1 Optimizing access control and reception quality
Faced withincreasing visitor numbers (21,000 admissions per day), the difficulty of managing a sales network distributed across several locations, and the rise of fraud, the Alhambra decided to call on Tickamore to delegate the complete management of ticketing and ticket control operations. Tickamore set up and manages the vending machines, the 15 access points to the site, maintenance, on-site support and a multilingual call center. In addition, to reinforce security controls, Tickamore has innovated by implementing a ticket control system linked to the visitor’s ID card, guaranteeing the personal nature of the ticket in compliance with personal data protection standards. As a result, checks at the Alhambra’s various access points are both faster and more efficient. While this data can be used to optimize access controls, it can also be used to improve the quality of your visit. (access to PDF presentation)
To optimize visitor flows, Nausicaa, with the support of My People Counter, has set up a monitoring visitor flows. 19 3D counting sensors were installed all along the visitor route in order to collect data on visitor flows, and to control and regulate visitor numbers in the aquarium’s various rooms (with a capacity of 5,800 people at any one time). Thanks to this monitoring tool, we have been able to regulate visitor flows , reducing the number of visitors by 10 to 20% of the maximum capacity, thus improving the quality of the visit. Gathering this information also enhances security for the site and its visitors, with more effective control of individual visitors.
2.2 Know your visitors better to communicate more effectively
Another example: since 2019, Arenametrix, a software platform specialized in data and CRM (customer relationship management) has been supporting the Château de Chantilly in its 360° knowledge of its visitors, in order tooptimize their targeting and its communication / loyalty strategy. This collaboration has enabled us to develop a range of actions to meet a clear objective: enrich the database with new contacts to acquire and win over new audiences (+22% of contacts last year). The Château de Chantilly provided the means to gather information on its visitors, and then to offer them communication tailored to their preferences, more targeted and personalized, thus creating a relationship of trust and commitment between visitors and the Château. This has been achieved, for example, through the collection of e-mails via wifi terminals, the website and GuestViews guest books. In this way, data collection becomes essential for capturing the public, sharing more relevant information and building visitor loyalty through a range of promotional actions (competitions, early ticketing, etc.). In 2024, the Château de Chantilly welcomed over 475,000 visitors. This type of tool has thus contributed to an increase in the number of visitors. (access to PDF presentation)
With this in mind, audio guide company Sycomore and its subsidiary Vox City have set up an online platform to sell tourist packages from over 25 tour operators for the Grotte Cosquer in Marseille. The replica of the famous cave, managed by Kléber Rossillon, welcomed over 1.7 million visitors in 2024 (up from 1 million previously). A platform of this kind has been instrumental in promoting Grotte Cosquer’s communications and ticket sales.
These approaches are essential to more optimized and targeted communication, thanks to more detailed data on visitors and their uses. They can help to better anticipate the activity of a site, as well as measure visitor satisfaction.
2.3 Better anticipate business and measure visitor satisfaction
Westtoer, the autonomous provincial company (EPA) in charge of tourism and leisure in West Flanders, supports numerous locations in improving the management of their tourist and cultural activities. With this in mind, in conjunction with Lean Mean Learning Machine, a company specializing in conversational Artificial Intelligence, Westtoer set up the “Talking Pictures in the Zwin Nature Park” project. This collaboration gave rise to a particularly original visitor satisfaction measurement project: the use of a LEGO stork powered by AI to enable visitors to enter into conversation with the animal and discuss their satisfaction at the end of their visit. In contrast to a conventional satisfaction questionnaire, this new tool enabled us tocollect more feedback (10 times more responses collected – around 400 per month compared with 490 per year for a more conventional questionnaire).
A more predictive approach to data was also discussed, with feedback from Qweekle and the Pop-Corn Labyrinthe network. Since 2020, Qweekle has been working with Pop-Corn Labyrinthe, a network of 35 franchised leisure parks offering escape games in corn mazes throughout France (500,000 visitors every year). Pop-Corn Labyrinthe sought a solution from Qweekle to better manage its outdoor activity and improve the attendance levels of its network, not only to compare its establishments in real time in terms of ticket sales, but also to make predictions about their current and future activities (connected to real-time data produced by Météo France and the French Education Ministry). Data as varied as sales, visitor numbers, average shopping baskets (by park or by region) and weather conditions were collected, enabling us to better analyze visitor behavior and optimize the park network’s strategy. For example, a 19.47% increase in the average basket was observed between 2023 and 2024, and a reduction in on-site ticket sales (from 67% to 63%) in favor of internet sales. (access to PDF presentation)
All of these examples highlight the diversity of fruitful collaborations that can exist between private partners and cultural and tourist venues to enrich the visitor experience or better understand their audiences and practices to create ever more innovative projects anchored in a logic of sustainability. Many thanks to these duos for their feedback and opinions on the ever-increasing number of issues facing cultural venues seeking new tools to redefine their visitor experience and improve the visitor experience on a daily basis.
Watch the replays of these innovative duets below:
- Saint-Lô x Timescope
- Qweekle x Pop-Corn Labyrinthe
- Losonnantes x Grenoble
- Immersia x Eglise Notre-Dame-de-bon-port x Fever
- Palais Garnier x Cultival
- Nausicaá x My People Counter
- Château de Chantilly x Arenametrix
- Westtoer x Lean Mean Learning Machine
- L’Alhambra x Tickamore
- Explor Games® x Vals du Dauphiné
- Animated coloring BlinkBook x Château d’Angers
- Grotte Cosquer x Sycomore x Vox city
