07 Nov 2016

Good deeds quietly done

by Liz Terry

When illness strikes, it’s normality which suffers, along with time with loved ones and family fun. But there are charities working hard to mend this gap, by offering seriously ill children and adults the opportunity for days out, with all the care they need to make these the best they can be. [more...]

01 Sep 2016

High-tech Place-Shifting is a new dimension for attractions to explore

by Liz Terry

New technology is giving us the power to Place-Shift experiences to create on-demand, immersive attractions in any location. Combining live streaming, haptics, AR and virtual reality with authentic artefacts and storytelling, this thinking will open up huge new markets for growth. [more...]

02 Mar 2016

Staying ahead

by Liz Terry

After decades of crazy inventions being the stuff of sci-fi, this year marks the point where they hit the mainstream, with affordable tech coming to market in everything from VR to drones, robots and augmented reality. We need to grab it with both hands, figure it out and make it our own. [more...]

21 Dec 2015

Sport finds its purpose

by Liz Terry

What a journey sport has been on over the last 50 years: from amateur to professional and from the private school to the mainstream. It's been quite a ride and we've essentially seen it democratised. Now sport is taking another giant evolutionary leap forward and joining the mainstream health and social agendas with the publication of the government’s report, Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation, which lays out plans for the sector. [more...]

14 Dec 2015

Linear parks enrich us

by Liz Terry

When Meg Daly broke both her arms in a bike accident, she was forced to use Miami’s Metrorail and then walk under the raised train tracks to get to physiotherapy sessions. The path beneath the tracks was wide and shaded and as she walked, it occurred to her that the land was a precious, under-used resource and the idea for the Miami Underline – a 16km linear park and urban trail – was born. [more...]

23 Oct 2015

Passive to active: spa gets sporty

by Liz Terry

In the 2015 edition of Spa Business magazine’s annual spa and wellness trends report – Spa Foresight™ – we highlighted spa and sport as being an exciting growth area for the industry. The majority of spas have traditionally focused on offering passive experiences, with only destination spas programming in active pursuits, such as hiking, but we expect this to change rapidly over the next decade as millennials come on stream as spa consumers. [more...]

17 Sep 2015

Active every day

by Liz Terry

Sometimes in the history of an industry, there comes a tipping point which propels it into the stratosphere. It can be anything from the advent of a new technology, to the launch of a new company or the arrival of a groundbreaking piece of legislation. [more...]

14 Aug 2015

Snakes & Ladders

by Liz Terry

There’s a bouncy feel to the latest TEA/AECOM Theme and Museum Index (Attractions Management 2015 issue 3 page 42) which reports healthy growth in attendances across attractions sectors from museums to theme and water parks. AECOM, which did the research, says the top 25 amusement/theme parks grew attendances by 4.1 per cent in 2014, the top 20 waterparks by 2.8 per cent and the top 20 museums by 1.6 per cent. Increases were recorded on all continents. [more...]

06 Aug 2015

It’s like Uber, but for massage

by Liz Terry

Hold onto your hats, the spa market is about to be turned upside down by the most disruptive business model yet. Spa on demand is targeting consumers and offering competitively priced, home-based treatments. It’s like Uber, but for massage. [more...]

18 Jun 2015

Building respectful partnerships

by Liz Terry

Mixed-use developments of all kinds rely on the inclusion of leisure elements for a range of vital impacts which make the difference between the success or failure of a scheme. [more...]

09 Jun 2015

Killer sport

by Liz Terry

The FIFA corruption scandal has brought the issue of Qatar's hosting of the Football World Cup to the top of the agenda again and – along with the allegations of bribery – has highlighted the death toll which has occurred to date during the building of the country's World Cup stadia. [more...]

08 May 2015

Preservation

by Liz Terry

It’s been a challenging time for the heritage sector. Widespread destruction of temples and other ancient monuments has been reported in Kathmandu following the Nepal earthquake, along with huge loss of life. [more...]

01 May 2015

Active and wellness design

by Liz Terry

The spa industry is growing more quickly than ever before, with roll-outs globally in all sectors. There’s never been a better time both to create wellness environments and to adopt green building methods to improve the health of both customers and the planet. [more...]

30 Mar 2015

Quidditch hits the mainstream

by Liz Terry

Quidditch. You may think this is a fantasy sport played only in the pages of a Harry Potter novel, but our reporters found the sport has been enthusiastically adopted by muggles (see our feature in Sports Management 2015 issue 1 on page 62). [more...]

13 Mar 2015

9/11

by Liz Terry

Rarely has one moment in time so defined an age and a place as Ground Zero, New York City on September 11 2001. It’s almost impossible to imagine how daunting the task appeared when the first meeting was called to discuss the development of a lasting memorial on the site. [more...]

24 Feb 2015

Adding value

by Liz Terry

Leisure is emerging as a powerful anchor for residential and retail developments, as well as adding significant bottom line value to a wide range of other development types. [more...]