Leisure And Recreation: Museums

In this piece of work I have discussed the history of the museum and its establishment in London including its unique characterstics.The possible key challenges faced by the attraction in coming future and the ways to combat these challenges by giving proposed management including range of aspects

“Leisure is the opportunity available to an individual after completing the immediate necessities of life, when he or she has the freedom to choose and engage in an experience that is expected to be personally satisfying”

From Edexcel Leisure and Recreation Course Specification

“The term leisure is an ever changing concept that reflects the current social and economic conditions and aspirations, adapting in response to consumer demand and expectations” The idea of leisure being described as a state of mind originated with Aristotle. He believed that leisure was a form of self-indulgence and self-improvement.

Get Help With Your Essay

If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!
Find out more about our Essay Writing Service

‘Leisure is seen as a man’s greatest possession because it is essential for self development. It forces us to step back from the constant pressures of daily life in order for us to see what is really important (Aristotle internet website)

IMPORTANCE OF LEISURE

Each person has their own opinion of what leisure means to them and there is no set definition of the word as it covers a wide range of things. leisure time and how it is spent is an individual’s choice and the way in which they spend it whether it be home based, active or passive. As long as the individual gets satisfaction from this ‘leisure’ time then it has been used to its potential.

Leisure is important because everyone needs a little bit of relaxation in their life. Having leisure helps a person relieve stress, have time to themselves, and just to recharge their body and mind. Leisure is very important for one’s mental and physical health. It provides an opportunity to spend time as you want away from regular work stress with family and friends. It is very important for an individual to take time out for itself as it bring about a positive flow of energy in an individual.

Leisure as a function has changed enormously over the last 100 years. With the arrival of new technology some forms of leisure have increased their range of activities hugely. 100 years ago art was considered to be drama, stage shows, architecture and so on. Now it include many different forms. Broadcasting, Film Production and Video were all aspects of the Art Council that received funding in the last year. These have only been considered arts in the last century. The Government, private companies and investors have also discovered the commercial side of leisure. From this information it can be concluded that over the last 100 years leisure has evolved from something that is the opposite of work to something that is vital in our everyday lives.

Madame tussauds is among the popular leisure attraction of the present time, it is standing at its place from last 200 years but getting more popular with time for the kind of unique entertainment it is providing to its visitors. Celebrities wax images draw visitors towards itself. IT is a kind of place which has all kind of attraction in it from past to present both for history lovers and for modern young youth.It helps to make visitors dreams come true when they want to touch or meet the personality they like ,which otherwise my not be possible for them because either it has become history or is very big celebrity of modern time ,whom one cant meet. Is it real or is it wax? Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference when you’re at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum .This unique museum of its own kind has entertained about 500 million visitors since it first opened. The Target Market for Madame Tussaud’s is to attract all types of consumers, from all social classes. As well as Domestic and Overseas visitors. (Refer to appendix 5)

London is a cosmopolitan city having peple all around the world with different cultures.The management of Madame tussauds when targeting marketing has taken advantage of this feature of the city and has kept different types of wax sculptures which visitors want to see for example to attract Asian visitors there are various political, sports ,and entertainment figures in the museum.

According to the student pack of Madame Tussaud’s, it identifies their Current Market as Demographics Segmentation according to social class. (Refer to appendix 6)

Kotler (1994) believes marketing a product/service, includes potential customers for using this specific product/service. Therefore, organisations will effectively market their product/service according to the Segment of market. This has been known as Target Market.

Additionally to Lancaster & Reynololds (1999), indicate that, in order to acquire target segment, the organisations has to break down the amount of the total market into different sub-groups / segments, according to their needs and wants, in-order to make the product/service attract consumers within that market segment.

Madame Tussaud’s uses segmentation and targeting market, because it provides many return to their organisation, such as:

ü It allows the exhibition to identify their customer groups with different requirements and wants

ü The exhibition objective can be achieved easily. For example; profit maximisation and long term growth

ü When there are market gaps in a market, it is assessed and then satisfied, this can be done by using unique product / promotional offerings

ü By handling marketing mix, in order for competence recognise the target needs. This will lead to an increase customers satisfaction

history

The name of Madame Tussaud is a famous one known the world over. Most people have heard of the waxwork exhibitions that have her name attached to them, but there was a real woman after whom subsequent exhibitions were named.

Madame Marie Tussaud was born Marie Grosholtz on December 1st 1761, in Strasbourg, France. Marie’s father, Joseph Grosholtz, had been a soldier during the Seven Year War, but had died two months prior to Marie’s birth. After Marie’s birth, her mother, Anne Made, moved both of them to Berne, Switzerland, Marie’s mother obtaining a job as a housekeeper with Dr. Philippe Curtius. In some sources Curtius is named as Marie’s uncle, though this is probably due to friendship rather than blood ties. Curtius was a skilled physician, who used wax models he made to demonstrate anatomy. Curtius passed on his knowledge of wax modelling to Marie.

In 1765 Curtius moved to Paris in order to set up a waxwork show, one of his first casts was of Louis XV’s mistress, Marie-Jeanne du Barry. Two years later Marie and her mother joined Curtius in Paris. It took until 1770 for Curtius to be in a position to host his first exhibition, but it immediately became a success attracting large audiences. By 1776 Curtius’ exhibition was such a success that it moved to the Palais Royal. During this period Curtius continued his tuition of Marie, and soon she was modelling her own waxworks. She met a number of famous individuals; her first wax figure was of Francois Voltaire in 1777, and was quickly followed by Benjamin Franklin and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

In addition to famous individuals, Curtius’ exhibition was also visited by the French Royal family. Curtius expanded his waxworks into a second location, the Caverne des Grands Voleurs on Boulevard du Temple. Marie though had been picked as tutor for the artistic education of Elizabeth, King Louis XVI’s sister. Living at the Royal court at Versailles caused problems when the Revolution came. Arrested for allegedly having royalist sympathies, Marie was imprisoned in La Force prison alongside aristocrats and other sympathisers.

It is not clear why Marie was saved from the guillotine, her talent at making death masks may have been one, although her acquaintance with Robespierre and Napoleon may have helped. What ever the reason, Marie never faced the guillotine, although she was forced to make death masks from the victims of it, these included friends like Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. In prison she shared a cell with Josephine

de Beauharais, the future Empress Josephine, and together the two friends were eventually released.

Upon the death of Curtius in 1794, the whole waxwork collection was left to Marie. In the following year, Marie married an engineer, Francois Tussaud, and before 1800 Marie had given birth to two sons, Joseph and Francois. The thriving business of pre-revolution days though struggled in the relative depravation of the New France. To improve their prospects Marie made the decision to take her waxworks on tour.

In 1802, Marie along with Joseph travelled to London, with her collection of death masks and wax figures. Resumption though in Revolutionary/Napoleonic War between Britain and France, meant that Marie was stranded, separated from her husband and second son. Extending her tour, Marie took her waxworks on a tour of Britain and Ireland, a tour which would last 33 years. Francois joined Marie in Britain in 1821, following the deaths of Marie’s husband and mother.

The tour came to end in 1835, when Marie found a permanent base for Madame Tussauds on Baker Street. The permanent site was soon attracting a large audience, drawn to the Chamber of Horrors, where victims of the French Revolution and notable murderers and criminals were exhibited. Marie wrote her memoirs in 1838, as her collection continued to grow, the figures of Nelson and Sir Walter Scott were added.

Marie died in her sleep in London on 15th April, 1850.

Madame Tussauds though continued to thrive, first through her sons and then grandsons. It was her grandsons who moved the exhibition to Marylebone Road in 1884, and since then other branches have been established in Amsterdam, Las Vegas, New York, Washington DC, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The modern Tussauds continues in the traditions of its founder, creating wax figures of the most notable individuals of every generation.

location and characterstics

The attraction is on the corner of Allsop Place and Marylebone Road, to the north of Central London. The nearest underground station is Baker Street, which is on the Jubilee, Bakerloo, Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith and City lines. Its distinguishing green dome used to house the London Planetarium.

Green dome of Madame Tussauds

History of location

Following a successful tour of the UK, Madame Tussauds established a permanent base for her exhibition in London as the Baker Street Bazaar in 1835. Visitors paid sixpence for the chance to meet the biggest names of the day. The attraction moved to its present site in Marylebone Road in 1884. As fame grows it is a frequent observation that crowds of people can reduce enjoyment of the exhibit by increasing queuing times and causing crowding that has prompted complaints and many patrons to ask for refund

Opening times

Off-peak opening times are generally 9:30am to 5:30pm. Off-peak periods are weekdays and non UK school holidays.

Peak opening times are 9am to 6pm. Peak opening times are weekends, UK school holidays, bank holidays and the whole of the summer period (July through August).

In 2008, the opening times in the summer period were 9am to 7pm.

Occasionally the attraction shuts early if there is a corporate event happening.

] Zones within the attraction

A-List Party

Formally Blush, this is the first room on the tour. Included in this room is the Big Brother experience, plus figures such as Samuel L Jackson, Morgan Freeman, Leo DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman David and Victoria Beckham and Robert Pattinson. It is designed to feel like you have stepped into a celebrity party, with wax figures dotted around the room.

High School Musical & Hannah Montana

Launched in 2008, this room has a figure of Zac Efron as the character of Troy Bolton from the High School Musical franchise. The room is set like a basketball court and a locker room. It is interactive in that if you successfully shoot a basket a crowd will cheer. In addition the lockers have ‘belongings’ of other characters of the movie. This zone also includes Miley Cyrus’s wax figure. There is also a karaoke facility, in which a person can sing Miley’s songs.

Premiere Night (Movie Room)

This zone houses four Bollywood figures as well as celebrities from Hollywood, including Steven Spielberg, Jim Carrey and Audrey Hepburn. It also has several fictional characters: Shrek (which has a squeezable stomach), Spiderman, the Incredible Hulk (which had to be airlifted into the attraction due to its size) and the smallest wax figure ever made,[1] Tinker Bell.

Sports Zone

The Sports zone has several interactive elements. Putt a golf ball with Tiger Woods, stand on boxing scales next to Mohammed Ali and see what ‘weight’ you would qualify for in boxing, take a penalty on a virtual reality screen, and ride a bike next to Lance Armstrong.

A Royal Appointment

In the Royals there is an opportunity to stand next to Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Charles, Prince of Wales, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William of Wales and Prince Henry of Wales.

Culture

A mixture of cultural icons fill this area, including Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Pablo Picasso and Charles Darwin.

Music Megastars

A mixture of music stars from across the decades appear in an area with a music stage complete with glitter balls. Music icons include Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Britney Spears, Leona Lewis, Kylie Minogue, Amy Winehouse, Tom Jones, Bob Marley, Justin Timberlake and Freddie Mercury. The Beatles in this area appear on the album cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

World Leaders

The World Leaders area of the attraction contains political and spiritual leaders of the World – past and present. The new figure of Barack Obama dominates this area; he is standing in a mock-up of the Oval Office which has a replica of the Resolute desk. Other leaders in this area include Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, Nicolas Sarkozy, Ronald Reagan, Tony Blair, Benazir Bhutto, Martin Luther King, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Gandhi.

The World Leaders area is also noted for its inclusion of controversial figures, including Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein and Robert Mugabe. Mother Teresa is one of the very few icons to ask not to be made, saying “her work was more important, not the person”[2]. Another notable omission from this area is current British Prime Minister Gordon Brown – the company said it has not been made into a wax figure due to his low popularity and not being elected into the position of Prime Minister, having assumed the position after the retirement of Tony Blair.[3]

Chamber of Horrors and Scream

The Chamber of Horrors is the horror section of Madame Tussauds, which showcases serial killers and murders. Included in this area are Guy Fawkes and Dennis Nilsen. This area also exhibits the original guillotine blade that killed Marie Antoinette.

The Scream experience (formally Chamber Live) is a live-action, actor-led scare maze. It is based on the premise that several serial killers have been let loose in the chamber. This attraction is not suitable for pregnant women and children under 12 years of age.

Behind the Secenes and History of Madame Tussauds

This area shows the history of Marie Tussaud, and how she started creating wax figures. It also has an area on how the scupltors make the figures, using Beyoncé as an example.

Spirit of London ride

The Spirit of London is a sit-down ride in which visitors sit in London taxis and are taken on a journey through the history of London. The ride starts in Tudor times and ends in the 1980s, passing through the times of Shakespeare, the Great Fire of London, the Industrial Revolution and the Swinging Sixties. The ride has commentary in a few languages and a photo is taken near the end of the ride which can be purchased when disembarke

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Top of Form

James Bond

The James Bond area contains the figures of Daniel Craig and Judi Dench. It has on display an original motorbike used in the James Bond movie Casino Royale.

Warhol’s Women

The Warhol’s Women zone contains the figure of Andy Warhol as well as the female celebrities he famously portrayed, including Marilyn Monroe in the classic pose where her skirt is blown upward, Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland, Jerry Hall and Jackie O.

About Madame Tussauds

Madame Tussauds has branches in 8 major cities (Amsterdam, Berlin, Hong Kong, Shanghai, New York, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.). A 9th attraction in Hollywood is planned for 2009.

Madame Tussauds is part of the Merlin Entertainments group, which also owns the London Eye, the Dungeons, Sea Life Centres and Legoland Discovery Centres, as well as theme parks including Alton Towers, Chessington World of Adventures and Thorpe Park in the UK, and Gardaland in Italy.

KEY CHALLENGES TO BE FACED BY THE EXHIBITION

Swar brooke(2002) states without visitor attractions there would be no need for other tourism services and tourism as such would not exist without them.

Different attractions provide their customers with services that are available with in the attraction for example some give their visitors a day out ,others give educational services,some give their customers ancilliary operations but Madme tussauds is one that entertain its visitors with combination of all above mentioned services due to which it is important that this work is put into place to deal with consumers content health and safety and to make sure of their repeat visits. To maintain this standard of excellence the tussauds organisation may possibly face some challenges in future specially in

Marketing and competition

Customer care

Human resource management

SWOT ANALYSIS

This can be used in order for the organisation to achieve their objectives. This procedure is an effective method of identifying businesses Strengths and Weaknesses, and to examine the Opportunities and Threats they face. Often carrying out an analysis using the SWOT framework that will be enough to reveal changes, which can be usefully made. Swift (2000)

According to Hannagan (1992) he defined SWOT analysis as:

“A SWOT analysis helps to focus attention on the key areas in an organisation that need to be taken into account in producing a marketing plan….

A SWOT analysis is a smmary of the marketing audit. It highlights internal differential strengths and weaknesses form the customers point of view as they relate to external opportunities and threats.”

Madame Tussaud’ s is like any attraction/organisation that analysis its internal factors; this is carried out in the marketing process, to analyse the effectiveness of the business operation and their internal factors, which influence to their success. This is achieved by conducting the SWOT analysis.

MARKETING AND COMPETITION :

In today’s world of business and economics makets have become very competitive therefore understanding consumer is no longer enough .Organisations must start giving attention to their competitors , if want to have share in the market. (kotler 2003) As it is stated before, Madame Tussaud’s it is a large organisation within the travel and tourism industry, therefore it face high standard of challenger not only in London but all around UK,which can become stronger in the future. that is why more effective marketing is required to survive in the competition However, it uses circulation channel for more knowledge of their product national and international.

They mainly deliver the awareness of their product/service through the Internet, as it is global. However, other sources of promoting and awareness of their product is mainly done through Media, in the form of posters at tube stations and bus sides which is mainly and to communicate the brand to a wider audience, public relations, portraits, business development and Banqueting & Co-operate Entertaining,

The prime objective of the organisation is to stay London top paying attraction,therefore a marketing strategy should be in terms of its target,current and potential market study and their process of promotion in order to attract their product to their customer by distribution. However, the aim of promotional planning in the long run is not just to inform, but to promote customers to purchase products/services or, to adopt ideas. Therefore, effective promotion is usually attained by well researched for tracking sales levels and attitude patterns toward consumers needs, this means objective must link to the target aimed. This can be achieved by updating, convincing and highlighting the organisation current and potential target marke

CUSTOMER CARE

Ensuring that customers are provided with quality services every time is a key in organisational success. Like other tourist attractions Madame tussauds may also face the challenge of delivering quality customer care.

The organisation should note that words of mouths from satisfied customers is a free advertising and improved reputation and above all an increased revenue.

Tussauds organisation should maintain a high standard of customer care training with in the exhibition to achieve goals like

Increase sales

Gain a competitive advantage

Maintain consumer loyalty

Attract new consumers

Gain customer satisfaction

Enhance the visitor attraction image

For achieving high standard of customer care the organisation must improve

¨ Their queuing process in term of not making consumer to wait for a long period to enter the exhibition

¨ Signs around the exhibition for direction (such as direction for facilities for disabilities segment)

Having more staff speaking different languages

Having effective management that can handle crowd

HUMAN RESOURCES

Human resource management can also be a challenge as selection and recruitment costs will be much more due to the high presence of staff at visitor attractions. Competition in the service sector offering prmanent employment can detract suitable applicants from applying for positions within visitor attractions. With the high staff turnover consistency will be difficult to maintain within visitor attractions, which inevitably will have a negative effect on the quality of service delivered to customers. This is due to the fact that to be able to deliver quality services to consumers requires skilled and well-trained employees. As many employees of visitor attractions are employed on short-term contracts, operators may be less willing to invest in training and development for seasonal staff. In Scotland the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions encourages its members to invest in training and development for all staff, whether full or part time, seasonal or permanent. Many operators of attractions dislike spending money on training and development for seasonal employees as there is the possibility of the employees not returning the following year. Operators are being encouraged to invest in training and development as this has proven to lead to a stronger more motivated workforce. If employees are enable and empowered to deliver a quality service, employee turnover should reduce, and employees affected by seasonality would be easier retained for the next season to come.

They mainly deliver the awareness of their product/service through the Internet, as it is global. However, other sources of promoting and awareness of their product is mainly done through Media, in the form of posters at tube stations and bus sides which is mainly and to communicate the brand to a wider audience, public relations, portraits, business development and Banqueting & Co-operate Entertaining,

The prime objective of the organisation is to stay London top paying attraction,therefore a marketing strategy should be in terms of its target,current and potential market study and their process of promotion in order to attract their product to their customer by distribution. However, the aim of promotional planning in the long run is not just to inform, but to promote customers to purchase products/services or, to adopt ideas. Therefore, effective promotion is usually attained by well researched for tracking sales levels and attitude patterns toward consumers needs, this means objective must link to the target aimed. This can be achieved by updating, convincing and highlighting the organisation current and potential target market.

At the same time one of their target is to carry out a promotional action plan to tsarget market, attract all types of consumers both domestic and overseas

CONCLUSION

Operators in today’s business environment face many challenges as we have seen in bring quality services to visitors of their attractions. By putting in place suitable measures and processes, and ensuring their employees are capable of knowledge about efficient customer care training, confidence and incentive in which to perform at their best, operators can gain an competitive edge in their market, and deliver customer satisfaction s every time.