Visitor Attractions and Activities Essay

ID No: 0594617 Lecturer: Donna O’Donnell

The four main factors surrounding the success of a man-made purpose built

tourist attraction today are the development of the attraction, the management of

the attraction, the appeal of the attraction to visitors and the marketing of the

attraction (Middleton, Fyall, Morgan and Ranchhod, 2009). This essay will be

evaluating Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium as a man-made purpose built

attraction within New Zealand and using supporting evidence, critique each area

of the attraction’s design in order to decide whether Kelly Tarlton’s is a good

attraction or not. The four main areas of focus within this evaluation will be

development, product, marketing and management. Development will assess

criteria including location, accessibility, investment and parties involved in the

development. Product will identify the all the key areas the visitors will experience

right from when they arrive on site to the products and services that Kelly Tarlton’s

have to offer the consumer as well as any unique selling points. Marketing will

look at the different ways in which the Kelly Tarlton’s marking team market their

brand to the public and the types of target markets the company aims to. Finally

management will cover areas including the management structure of Kelly

Tarlton’s and staff turnover. Taking an analytical approach to each of these four

key areas, this essay will assess whether Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium is a

good visitor attraction or not.

Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium, first opened to the public in 1985 and is one of

New Zealand’s most well-known man-made attractions having celebrated its 30th

anniversary in January 2015. The idea was to build a unique aquarium which

nobody had ever seen and construction was carried out in 1984 on a 2.4m

diameter tunnel and a moving walkway. The attraction was built inside a group of

redundant storm water and sewage tanks near Mission Bay at Takaparawha Point

and took ten months to build and cost three million dollars. (Dougan, 2015).

According to (Middleton et al., 2009), the choice of location when it comes to

building an attraction is one of the most pivotal factors which contributes to the

attractions success. It is fundamentally important that not only is the location

suitable for that attraction but also that the attraction needs to be strategically

placed so it is accessible to visitors by different means of transport and close to

other tourist hotspots. In this instance, the location of Kelly Tarlton’s was well

chosen as it is only 15 minutes’ drive from Auckland’s CBD and very assessable

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by either public bus, train or private vehicle. In conjunction to this, Kelly Tarlton’s

has a public bus stop located about ten metres from the attraction itself of which

buses frequently run to and from the Auckland CBD. There is also extensive

customer parking on site for visitors who wish to travel by car. Furthermore, Kelly

Tarlton’s also has a free shuttle which runs to/from their attraction to/from Quay

Street in the Auckland CBD. Moreover, Kelly Tarlton’s is very strategically placed

as it sits right by the waterside of the Auckland Harbour with a stunning view of not

only the harbour itself but also the Auckland Harbour Bridge and Auckland City

beyond which further adds to ambience of the attraction.

In addition, a further factor to take into account during the development of an

attraction, is the business’s affiliation with other companies and organisations.

First and foremost as of 2012, Kelly Tarlton’s are owned by Merlin Entertainments

which have significantly contributed to Kelly Tarlton’s development over the past

decade. Merlin Entertainments, is second largest visitor attraction management

company in the world. They run 110 attractions in 23 countries across 4 continents

(Merlin Entertainments Group, 2015). Being associated with such a renowned

company, has seen Kelly Tarlton’s more widely recognised on an international

scale where as previously, their attraction had a more local/national catchment

area. In addition, in 2011 Merlin invested 5.5 million dollars into Kelly Tarlton’s to

redevelop and relaunch the business into a world class attraction (Scoop Media,

2012). This investment allowed Kelly Tarlton’s to add extensive additions to the

theming, ambience and create a new layout and exhibit structure. Another

association that Kelly Tarlton’s are involved with, are the Sea Life Trust. Working

with this company, helps Kelly Tarlton’s promote one of the main aims of their

company which is to educate people on the protection of various marine species

and the affect that we have on their environment. Through the Sea Life Trust,

Kelly Tarltons also have established the Sea Life Conservation Fund which is an

independent, environmental non-profit organization dedicated to conserving and

protecting New Zealand's unique aquatic habitats and the incredible animals that

live in them (Merlin Entertainments Group, 2015). Working alongside

environmental organizations not only helps promote Kelly Tarlton’s as an

attraction, but also opens a door to one of their large target market areas of

students. Moreover, the Department of Conservation has so much recognition for

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the educational work that Kelly Tarlton’s does within schools that in 2015 they

contributed 100 thousand dollars towards the development and delivery of Kelly

Tarlton’s mobile outreach programme which is designed to directly deliver marine

conversation education into schools and community centres (Department of

Conservation, 2015).

One of the most vital parts of an attraction is the products and services they have

to offer, as the actual product itself is a combination of a variety of different areas.

These areas may include but are not limited to, the quality of advertising during

promotion, effectiveness and appeal of signage, accessibility of the attraction, the

attraction’s location, the attraction’s physical appearance and ambience, the level

of customer service offering during the consumption of the product and the

general layout of the attractions displays, presentations and on site facilities

(Swarbrooke, 2002). On arrival of visitors to Kelly Tarlton’s, the most important

factor associated with a visitor’s first visual impression will be the entrance. In

relation to Kelly Tarlton’s, the entrance to their product is very clearly exhibited,

both on the front of the entrance itself, inside the entrance to the attraction and

throughout the parking facilities on site. The company’s website is also advertised

on the front of the entrance and outside the entrance there is signage promoting

the Kelly Tarlton’s free shuttle service and its service times as well as the

Auckland Explorer Bus service and its prices. There are painted penguin shaped

footprints throughout the parking facilities leading to the entrance of the attraction.

Just inside the entrance, there is clear signage giving visitors information on the

attraction operating hours and direction to the general admission lane and the

prepaid express lane as well as the variety of admission prices and methods of

payment. There is also a variety of different signage, which cover any other

information that visitors may want to know including a daily schedule for talks on

different marine species and daily feedings of the different types of specimens

including the penguins.

Within the attraction itself, Kelly Tarlton’s displays 30 live animal exhibits which

showcase up to 2000 fish of 40 different species at once time, 4 species of shark,

stringrays and the world’s largest Antarctic penguin colony exhibit. The sharks,

stringrays and fish can be viewed through a 114m long underwater plexiglass

tunnel in the shape of the figure eight which has a conveyor belt. Aside from the

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tunnel which is one of Kelly Tarlton’s main attraction features, one of their unique

selling points is the Antarctic Ice Adventure and Scott Base. The exhibit allows

visitors to view a colony of King and Gentoo penguins. This feature is a unique

selling point as it displays New Zealand’s only colony of Antarctic Penguins.

Accompanying the two previously mentioned selling points, are a fish gallery and

seahorse kingdom which contain an area of smaller aquariums filled with sea

horses, moray eels, crayfish, stonefish, pufferfish, red bellied piranha and an

octopus. The octopus named Rambo, has recently caught the attention of visitors

and other marine organisations for being the first octopus in the world to learn how

to take photos with an underwater camera which was a unique selling point for

Kelly Tarlton’s in its own right (Walters, 2015). A Further unique selling point is

Phoebe a 250 kg short-tail stingray who has been with Kelly Tarlton’s since it first

opened over 30 years ago and has since had 56 babies.

Another important key feature as stated by (Swarbrooke, 2002), are activities

surrounding the attraction itself. These can often be unique selling points used in

packaging the attraction’s product and furthermore, be used as a tool in further

extending the appeal of their attraction to other target markets. Kelly Tarlton’s offer

visitors to scuba dive with the sharks up close in personal or if they prefer snorkel

with the sharks within a cage. Another popular activity on offer, is the Penguin

Discovery which allows visitors to get up close with the King and Gentoo penguins

while being supervised by staff. Kelly Tarlon’s also offer a 25 minute tour where

visitors will be shown how everything works in the back of house areas, see the

shark tunnel from above and get to feed the fish in the largest tank. A further

important part of activities within an attraction are events and functions. Currently,

Kelly Tarlton’s is available for hire for a variety of functions including family

sleepovers, dining functions, cocktail parties, private walkthrough experiences and

birthday parties which the primary area of focus in their current brochure on site

(Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium, 2015). For functions, Kelly Tarlton’s can

accommodate anywhere from 10 to 500 guests at a time. One of the features

which makes it ideal for functions, is that it is underground which means functions

will be unaffected by weather conditions and moreover, reduces the effect of

seasonality due to bad weather (Merlin Entertainments Group, 2015). Activities,

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functions and events encourage secondary spending by the public which can be

an important source of revenue for the attraction during the off peak season.

As mentioned earlier, Kelly Tarlton’s plays host to an extensive variety of target

markets. Traditionally, Kelly Tarlton’s aimed to focus at a 50/50 base target market

between domestic and international visitors. When the attraction first opened it

attracted 900,000 visitors in its first year and since then more than 11 million

visitors have walked through its doors. Over the past decade, Kelly Tarlton’s has

attracted 350,000 visitors on an annual basis. 70% of these visitors have been

domestic, and 80% of those domestic visitors have been from inside the Auckland

region. Being that Kelly Tarlton’s carries an extensive educational focus, one of

their major target markets is school children. Other target markets include families,

tertiary students and international tourists who are either passing through

Auckland or staying within the Auckland area during their visit to New Zealand. On

the educational side of the target market, Kelly Tarlton’s has become very

technologically savy. Most of its displays and exhibits throughout the attraction,

have interactive monitors and videos to further educate visitors, especially children

on the numerous different marine species on site. (Merlin Entertainments Group,

2015).

How well an attraction is marketed and the channels used to market their

product(s), can have a substantial impact on the numbers of visitor that attraction

receives (Middleton, Fyall, Morgan and Ranchhod, 2009). As today’s society has

become very technologically focused, a major part of marketing is associated with

online social networks. Currently, Kelly Tarlton’s promotes its business through

Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Trip Advisor, of which Kelly Tarlton’s won a

certificate of excellence on during 2015 (Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium, 2015),

(Trip Advisor, 2015). As it is impossible to literally take the product to the

consumer in the case of Kelly Tarlton’s, promotional channels for its marketing

often carry as much interactive media content as possible in order to promote their

product(s) such as Youtube and Virtual Tourist (Virtual Tourist, 2015). Other forms

of marketing Kelly Tarlton’s has used include their free shuttle service which is

designed in the form of a shark so sticks out well in public. They also market their

product using the Auckland Hop-on, Hop-off Explorer bus which is a tour of which

the Auckland Explorer considers Auckland city’s top ten tourism attractions. Kelly

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Tarlton’s is the second stop on the tour. Kelly Tarlton’s is also promoted in the

Auckland harbour 360 discovery cruise brochure (Auckland Explorer Bus, 2015;

Harbour Discovery, 2015). Moreover, Kelly Tarlton’s were the winner of the

‘Innovative Marketing Campaign’ award which was given at the 2010 Tourism

Industry Awards. This award was given for their ‘Oceans of Things to Sea and Do’

marketing programme which targeting the domestic tourism market within New

Zealand, giving them a reason to keep returning to Kelly Tarlton’s (New Zealand

tourism guide, 2015).

Finally, the fourth area of importance within an attraction is the management

structure. In the case of Kelly Tarlton’s, at the very top is Merlin Entertainments

who consist of 6 non-executive directors and 11 executive directors who each

have a particular responsibility or area of expertise whether it be financial,

developmental of particular attractions or directorial. In particular with Kelly

Tarlton’s the managing director is Nick Mackenzie who is in charge of the

continued development of not only Kelly Tarlton’s but all attractions within the SEA

LIFE brand plus half a dozen other attraction brands (Merlin Entertainments,

2015). Development from Merlin includes product relaunch, expansion,

rebranding, ensuring attractions are profitable and reaching revenue targets and

investments where necessary Merlin Entertainments, 2015). Below Merlin, within

Kelly Tarltons itself the company has its own development director and directors in

other key departments including finance, marketing and sales. Beneath those

roles are the standard department managers for each area of the attraction

including front of house for example the front desk and gift shop and back of

house which involves taking care of sea life and putting on demonstrations for the

visitors (Merlin Entertainments Group, 2015). Kelly Tarlton’s currently has 40 full

time staff, 50 casual/part time and approximately 100 staff total (including

management). The management structure of Kelly Tarlton’s is quite complex,

especially now that it now is Merlin Entertainments’ management which has

ensured that the company continues to develop and continue drawing in visitors.

In conclusion, looking back over what was discussed, Kelly Tarlton’s is a now well

established on a local catchment area scale as one of Auckland’s top attractions

having been in business over 30 years. It is located in an excellent location based

on the nature of the attraction and is in an area which is highly accessible by both

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public and non-public transport means. Kelly Tarlton’s have a positive business

relationship both with the owners Merlin Entertainments and with the Department

of Conservation who have both contributed towards Kelly Tarltons’ being a well-

known local and national attraction within New Zealand. Within the attraction itself,

there are numerous unique selling points which distinguish Kelly Tarlton’s as one

of the top attractions within Auckland including visitors being able to see New

Zealand’s only colony of Antarctic penguins. The attraction offers a diverse variety

of both educate and entertain visitors. Kelly Tarlton’s is primary catchment area in

regards to marketing is local although they are beginning to promote the brand on

a more national scale. Kelly Tarlton’s reach the chosen target markets through a

variety of social media including facebook and trip advisor and through use of the

company shark shuttle bus. Furthermore, they continue to reach the younger

target market through school educational programmes. Management within the

company is quite vast and complex, however this has allowed Kelly Tarltons to

grow and flourish as a local attraction. Reviewing the way Kelly Tarlton’s have

developed the products, marketing and management and management of the

company as an attraction is it safe to say Kelly Tarlton’s are definitely one of the

top attractions within Auckland however on a national scale, as most tourists come

to New Zealand for the unique culture and because of its unique green

environment, Kelly Tarlton’s still has a way to go before it can be considered a

‘good attraction’ in comparison to all of the natural attractions Aoteroa has to offer.

References

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360 Discovery Cruises. (2015). Auckland Harbour - hop-on, hop-off cruise

[Brochure]. Auckland, New Zealand: Harbour Discovery.

Auckland Explorer Bus. (2015). Aucklander explorer bus stop 2: Kelly Tarltons

Sea Life Aquarium. Retrieved August 27, 2015, from

http://www.explorerbus.co.nz/kelly-tarltons-sea-life-aquarium-stop-two

Department of Conservation. (2015). Successful community conservation

partnerships fund projects 2015/16. Retrieved October 22, 2015, from

http://www.doc.govt.nz/get-involved/funding/community-conservation-

partnerships-fund/successful-applications-2015/

Dougan, P. (2015, January 23). Kelly Tarlton's: 30 years of underwater wonder.

Auckland, New Zealand: New Zealand Herald . Retrieved from

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11390468

Kelly Tarlton's. (2015). Birthdays at Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium [Brochure].

Auckland, New Zealand: Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium.

Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium. (2015). Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium

Facebook page. Retrieved August 27, 2015, from Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/KellyTarltons

Merlin Entertainments. (2015) Merlin Entertainments Group official site. Retrieved

October 22, 2015, from http://merlinentertainments.biz/our-people

Merlin Entertainments Group. (2015). Kelly Tarlton's SEA LIFE Aquarium offical

site. Retrieved August 27, 2015, from http://www.kellytarltons.co.nz/

New Zealand tourism guide. (2015). Kelly Tarlton's wins TNZ innovative marketing

award. Retrieved October 22, 2015, from

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http://www.tourism.net.nz/awards/kelly-tarltons-award.html

Scoop Media. (2012, March 14). Major investment refreshes Auckland landmark

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refreshes-auckland-landmark-kelly-tarltons.htm

Swarbrooke, J. (2002). The development & management of visitor attractions

(Second ed.). Oxford, United Kingdom: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Trip Advisor. (2015). Trip Advisor: Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aqaurium user reviews.

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Kelly_Tarlton_s_Sea_Life_Aquarium-

Auckland_North_Island.html#REVIEWS

Middleton, V.T.C., Fyall, A., Morgan, M., & Ranchhod, A. (2009). Marketing in

travel and tourism (Fourth ed.). Oxford, United Kingdom: Elsevier Ltd.

Virtual Tourist. (2015). Auckland region travel guide: Kelly Tarlton's Underwater

World. Retrieved August 27, 2015, from Virtual Tourist:

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Australia_and_Oceania/New_Zealand/

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