Beacons Can Enhance The Overall Visitor Experience At Zoos And Theme Parks

Don’t be surprised when next time you visit a zoo or theme park and are greeted not by a human but technology and during the whole tour you don’t even come across the human interference neither to gain information about an animal nor to locate a place in the big area. Gratifying experience, isn’t it?

And this is not very far from being a real-time experience. Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Garden has recently set up the beacon technology to escalate the visitor experience and improve the interaction level. Their mobile app called “Rainforest of the America” has made the interaction more desirable, convenient and detailed. Whether they want to know everything about something (of course, zoo related major and minor information) or want to check for the beautiful animal videos, they can find them all tucked at one place- in the app. Thus, the app creates a big reason for the visitors to take home a pleasant experience, memory for a lifetime. It is indeed no less than a revolution!

Zoos, theme parks, and botanical gardens are places to relax, get entertained and increase knowledge.  So let’s see in detail how beacons are useful in this field.

More Interactive:

While at a zoo, voice guides are a passé. In the world of growing technology and unimaginable possibilities, beacons are the new friendly superhero.

If you have the Zoo (or Theme Park’s) app in your smartphone, you can have an enhanced user experience in terms of information sharing. You no longer have to tear through the crowd to see an exotic bird or jump until you get a glimpse of a rare reptile. With the help of the app, the visitors can know about the habitat as well as other relevant trivia (including pictures and videos) for each species. This not only helps you learn more but also seems a lot more interesting to technologically forward school kids.

Hassle Free Parking Facilities

With a huge rush on weekends and little kids to handle, finding a parking spot is one dreadful task!

By sending a notification to visitors at the entrance itself, you can save them the trouble of circling around looking for parking space and direct them to the space available.  And while returning too, visitors won’t have to look around and waste time as they would be able to locate their parked vehicle easily. Not only that, security personnel will also be able to remotely identify vehicle owners in case of an emergency.

Plan Your Visit:

Instead for heading to the first ride or section in the theme park or zoo, visitors can plan the places they want to visit by selecting the rides and sections of their choice on the virtual map of the theme park or zoo. What more? Just eat or relax while the app lets you know when your favorite show is about to begin on your smartphone.

And it also helps the security staffs get alerts about places of rush and they can keep an eye on places prone to security breaches.

On the go reservations:

Does waiting in line for food and refreshments take up all your time? Or upgrading to a different package once you’ve entered the theme park isn’t available on the go? Fret not, with beacons installed in your smartphone; visitors can do that and many more. Visitors can get notifications for relevant upgrades on the go or can even check the lunch menu and save a seat for themselves.

Skip waiting in lines at rides and have food instead. By the time your turn comes, you are done with the food and ready to have fun again.

Rewards are more fun:

Increasing engagement at theme parks and zoos can be done easily if organized games or hunts are played. For example, if the visitors follow the hints on the app and are able to find the treasures (for examples certain color-coded badges), they could get a free picture taken at a certain counter.

This is mainly useful when a new exhibit at the zoo is to be promoted or you want more crowds at a lesser popular ride. The rewards can range from coupons to merchandise. This is beneficial for both the zoo and the people.

Special offers for the differently-abled visitors

Special services for the differently abled will always attract more visitors. With the help of beacons, a virtual map could be either visible or heard by ones who are challenged. This would ensure that they navigate with ease.

Keep a tap on the closed ones:

Most parents have a hard time managing their kids at theme parks and zoos which do not give them an opportunity to enjoy their stay. Visitors can rent in-house wearable wrist-bands which would help them keep a track of their loved ones even while they sit and relax.
Imagine the happiness of the kid who is not restrained to stick to its parent all the time. After all everyone came to have fun and enjoy!

Beacons help you set a range up to where the kids can move around and once they cross it, you receive alerts on the app instantly. This helps in identifying their current location and also locating them on the virtual map.

Data insights:

At the end of the day, every data is analyzed and the results thus gained help in developing and improving the user experience.

The data collected from beacons at theme parks and zoos could be put in better use such as determining the busiest hours in the day or even weeks, app hits and accordingly manage the staff and services better.

If visitors repeat their visit, you can even notify them about any new additions since their last visit. Win-win situation!

Thus, by implementing beacons, you can not only enhance the user experience for the visitors but also collect relevant data and feedback about their experience which in turn could be used to improve the existing services and facilities. And all this while you save your human resource for a better purpose and still provide the best of your services. Smart, isn’t it?