1. VAC 2014
SPONSORS
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION SUPPORTED BY
CONFERENCE
PROGRAMME
THE ANNUAL
NATIONAL
CONFERENCE
OF VISITOR
ATTRACTIONS
THURSDAY 9 OCTOBER
THE QUEEN ELIZABETH II
CONFERENCE CENTRE
LONDON
WWW.VAC2014.CO.UK

2. Welcome
Welcome to the Visitor Attractions Conference 2014.
As we come out of another summer, many attractions have the opportunity to
reflect on how their season has been. More and more attractions still have
significant parts of their season to experience including Halloween and
Christmas. The ‘traditional’ holiday season has changed and this conference will
reflect the different types of attractions that make up our industry.
During the early years of the ‘staycation’ it was felt that once prosperity returned
to the land, everyone would jet off to sunnier climates. It is possible that this year
has seen the first year, for a while, that consumer confidence has returned. Early
indications are that the attractions industry has stood up well against the
temptation to go abroad. There are many businesses who invested in their
product over the last few years and are now reaping the rewards.
I hope you enjoy the Conference this year and have the opportunity to learn
from some of the success stories and be inspired by the individuals that make up
this fantastic industry.
GENERAL INFORMATION
VENUE The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (QEIICC)
Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3EE
The plan below will assist you with finding your way around the
QEIICC.
1st Floor
A - Pickwick Suite -
• Exhibition, Refreshments,
Lunch and After Conference
Complimentary Drinks Party
Ground Floor
B - Churchill Auditorium -
• The VAC Legal Briefing
• Conference Auditorium
C - Nightingale Room -
• Speakers’ Lounge
D - Sanctuary Foyer -
• Registration
E - West Foyer -
• Cloakroom
BADGES Please wear your name badge at all times. Name
badge holders have been colour coded to identify types of
participant:
Full participants - Clear
Speakers - Red
Exhibitors - Blue
Press - Grey
BUSINESS CENTRE The business centre is located on the
ground floor of the QEIICC by the main entrance. This is open
from 08:00 – 18:00 and can be utilised by delegates. The
business centre offers the following services: photocopying,
faxing, internet use, printing from discs and telephone
conference calls. Payment for these services can be made by
cash or credit card.
Paul Kelly
VAC 2014
Chairman
CLOAKROOM The Cloakroom is located on the ground floor of
the QEIICC and will be in operation from 08:00 – 19:00.
FIRST AID Should you require first aid assistance during the
Conference, please contact the staff located in the Registration
Area who will be able to take you to the First Aid Room located
on the ground floor of the QEIICC.
INTERNET There is complimentary WiFi available for all
participants throughout the venue and the duration of the
Conference.
LOST PROPERTY Please hand in lost property to the Registration
Area where it will be made available for collection.
LUNCH Lunch will be provided in the Pickwick Suite, 1st floor of
the QEIICC.
MESSAGES The telephone number for people wishing to leave
messages for you during the conference opening hours is:
020 7798 4090.
MOBILE PHONES As a courtesy to speakers and other delegates,
we ask that all mobile phones be turned on silent before entering
the conference sessions.
REFRESHMENTS Coffee and tea will be available in the Pickwick
Suite, 1st floor of the QEIICC, during the official refreshment
breaks.
SMOKING Please note that smoking is not permitted in any part
of the QEIICC.
VAC 2015 We are pleased to announce the date for the next
Annual National Conference of Visitor Attractions, which will be
held on Thursday 8 October 2015 at the Queen Elizabeth II
Conference Centre, London. We hope to see you next year!
The event for – museums and galleries; theme and leisure parks; piers; zoos, aquariums and animal attraction
heritage centres and sites; historic transport; landmark attractions; parks and gardens; farm attractions; scienc

3. “
To succeed,
we must keep
learning new
tricks and
honing our skills.
Programme
08:30 – 09:00 Registration and coffee
09:00 – 09:45 The VAC Legal Briefing
Speakers from Burges Salmon
Chris Seaton, Partner
Helen Scott-Lawler, Partner
10:00 – 10:05 Welcome from the Conference Chairman
Paul Kelly, VAC 2014 Chairman
10:05 – 10:30 Keynote Address
Attractions as Local Heroes; the impact on local
communities
Wayne Hemingway, MBE, Designer, Hemingway Design
Eddie Kemsley, Director, Dreamland
10:30 – 11:00 Insights, Foresight and Inspiration
Review of 2014 – and foresight for Attractions
Sharon Orrell, Head of Research and Insight, VisitEngland
Steve Mills, Director, BDRC
11:00 – 11:20 Coffee Break
11:20 – 12:15 National Overview and Key Issues Review
Matthew Tanner, Chairman, Association of Independent
Museums, CEO, SS Great Britain
Nick Way, Director-General, Historic Houses Association
Jamie Christon, Managing Director, Chester Zoo
12:15 – 12:55 Creating Visitor Experiences
Findings from a Review of the Impact of IPs/
Themed Characters on Visitor Attractions
Lesley Morisetti, Director, Morisetti Associates
An Overview of the Latest Technology for Visitor
Attractions
David Hughes, Solution Development Manager,
The Interactive Institute
12:55 – 13:00 Questions and morning sessions resume
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
”
ns; churches, cathedrals and places of worship; historic houses;
ce centres; heritage railways and workplace attractions. WWW.VAC2014.CO.UK

4. Programme CONTINUED
14:00 – 14:30 Exceeding Visitor Expectations
Håkon Lund, CEO, Kongeparken
14:30 – 14:45 Management Realities
Serene on the surface, but paddling like mad
below
Martha Lytton-Cobbold, Managing Director, Lytton
Enterprises Ltd – Knebworth House
14:45 – 15:20 Working Together
Tourism Management in England
Lyndsey Swift, Head of Strategic Partnerships,
VisitEngland
Melanie Sensicle, CEO, Visit County Durham
15:20 – 15:45 Tea Break
15:45 – 16:00 The Tourism Industry Report
Kurt Janson, Policy Director, Tourism Alliance
16:00 – 16:55 The VAC Panel Discussion
Lord Lee of Trafford DL, Chairman of the All-Party Group
on Tourism, UK Parliament
James Berresford, CEO, VisitEngland
Alison Rice, Travel Journalist & Broadcaster
16:55 – 17:00 Closing Remarks
Paul Kelly, VAC 2014 Chair
17:00 – 18:30 After Conference – Reception and
Complimentary Drinks
Kindly supported by Burges Salmon
The event for – museums and galleries; theme and leisure parks; piers; zoos, aquariums and animal attraction
heritage centres and sites; historic transport; landmark attractions; parks and gardens; farm attractions; scienc

5. WWW.VAC2014.CO.UK
SPeaker PROFILES
James Berresford
James was educated at the City of London University. His early career started in arts administration and theatre marketing
before moving to countryside recreation. He then went on to Nottinghamshire County Council as Tourism Officer and
subsequently became Assistant Director of Leisure responsible for the management of various tourist attractions including
Sherwood Forest. He was appointed to the Heart of England Tourist Board as Regional Director in the East Midlands before
joining the Northwest Development Agency as Regional Business Manager for Tourism. He was subsequently appointed a
Director of the Agency with oversight for Tourism and Culture. On 2 July 2009 James took up the post of Chief Executive of
VisitEngland. VisitEngland is the official tourism body for England. Its role is to work in partnership with Government and
industry to grow the value of the visitor economy at all levels. James is married with one son. He lives in Battersea but has a
small bolt hole in the Peak District where he likes to make the most of his love of the countryside. He is a Director of the
Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA) and the National Skills Academy for Hospitality. James was recently given an
Honorary Doctorate in Business from Chester University.
Jamie Christon
Jamie is responsible for the business operation of Chester Zoo. The Zoo is the largest and most visited zoo in the UK and is
developing fast, with Islands, a new 6 hectare extension being opened in 2015. Islands is the second phase of Natural Vision, a
plan sees further expansion of the site through to 2030. Before joining Chester Zoo in July 2014, Jamie worked for Stena Line,
Europes leading Ferry Company managing group commercial activity across its fleet of 34 ferries across seven countries.
Previous to that he was Managing Director of Exeter Airport and has also held a number of commercial and operational roles
within The Manchester Airport Group. Jamie graduated from Leicester University with a degree in Politics and began his career
in FMCG retail within the food and fashion high street sector. He lives in Chester, is married and is also a school governor and
involved in the tourism sector in the northwest.
Bernard Donoghue – Chair of the VAC Conference Committee
Bernard is Director of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, ALVA, which comprises 57of the UK’s most popular and
important cathedrals, museums, galleries, palaces, zoos, gardens, heritage sites, historic houses and leisure attractions. He is
Deputy Chairman of the Tourism Alliance; a Trustee of the Geffrye Museum of the Home, London; the Heritage Alliance; Kids
in Museums; and is a member of the Council of St Paul’s Cathedral. He is the Chairman of the award-winning London
International Festival of Theatre; the Council of Ambassadors of WWF-UK and has been a judge of the Museums and Heritage
Awards for several years. Prior to ALVA Bernard held communications and policy roles at VisitBritain, the Royal Household,
central Government, campaigning charities, the UK Parliament and the Council of Europe.
Wayne Hemingway
Wayne’s experience spans fashion, urban design, housing, product and graphic design. As a fashion designer he was co-founder
of Red or Dead, and after selling the business he set up Hemingway Design, specialising in affordable and social
design. Hemingway Design has won numerous awards for it’s work spanning regeneration and festival design. He is a trustee
of the Design Council; he created the Vintage festival; in 2013 he and his team designed a permanent installation at the Royal
Festival Hall, The Museum of 51 and a temporary exhibition, Beantown to help DC Thomson celebrate the 75th anniversary of
their publication The Beano. 2014 sees the launch of more interior and furniture ranges as well as the team embarking on
heading up the design and vision for the creation of the world’s first amusement park for thrilling historic rides, Dreamland in
Margate.
David Hughes
David has a background in engineering design, flight simulation and 3D visual computing and is fuelled by a passion for
innovation, science communication and experimentation. He has extensive experience of emerging technology solutions in the
visitor attractions industry, including, museums, planetariums and interactive experiences. The innovation technology
consultancy he founded specialises in visualisation and emerging technologies. He is currently working with a leading research
group in Sweden to help the world’s museums digitally unlock their storeroom collections, covering a remarkable range of
subjects from ancient mummies to Martian meteorites. Using cutting-edge medical imaging and visualisation technologies, this
new approach is resulting in significant discoveries as well as exciting new ways that museum visitors can engage with the
science.
Kurt Janson
Kurt is Policy Director of the Tourism Alliance, the umbrella trade association for the tourism and hospitality sector that
comprises around 50 industry associations, including the major Visitor Attractions organisations, that together represent almost
200,000 businesses of all sizes throughout the UK. Kurt’s role entails the monitoring of policy, strategy and legislative issues
and to prepare policy statements, and lobby, as determined by the TA Board. Kurt’s immediate previous experience was as
Policy Manager for the ETB, then BTA, and as Head of Strategic Planning for VisitBritain. Kurt graduated in New Zealand with a
Masters degree in Public Policy and worked for the New Zealand Department of Conservation and the New Zealand Tourist
Board before moving to Britain in 1997.
Paul Kelly
Paul has spent the whole of his working life in the attractions industry. As a student he worked on the ghost ride at Thorpe
Park, having spent many happy years there heading up the operation, he moved over to the London Eye in 1999/2000, as part
of the Tussauds group to head up the operational launch of, what turned out to be Britain’s busiest paid for attraction. After
five years and a purchase by the Merlin group Paul worked on Business Development projects in the UK and around the world.
After 25 years and a couple of years of consultancy work Paul joined BALPPA as CEO in 2012.
ns; churches, cathedrals and places of worship; historic houses;
ce centres; heritage railways and workplace attractions.

6. SPeaker PROFILES CONTINUED
Eddie Kemsley
Eddie’s career in leadership of leisure operations began when she became a General Manager to a business with a £3m turn over
at age of 23. Some years and much success later, she was named within Evening Standard’s top 5 most influential event
organisers. She was an original member of leadership team that devised and operated the ‘LOVEBOX WEEKENDER’. She took
over as Festival Director of a troubled Beach Break LIVE – 25,000 capacity student music festival – and turned it around with
only 7 days to go, and went on for it to win Best Medium Sized Festival at UK Festival Awards. Eddie was Chair of BALPPA’s
Sales & Marketing Committee (2012-2013).
Lord Lee of Trafford DL
Lord Lee of Trafford is the Chairman of ALVA, a role he has held since his appointment in 1990.
He was a Conservative MP for nelson and Colne and later for Pendle. His ministerial roles included Tourism, Employment and
Defence. He entered the House of Lords as a Liberal democrat in 2006 and was the party’s spokesperson for Trade and Industry
2006-07, Culture, Media and Sport (Tourism) 2006-10, Defence 2007-10, Whip 2007-10. He was a Member, English Tourist
Board 1992-99; Chair: Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester 1992-99.
Håkon Lund
The Lund Group is one of Europe’s oldest amusement companies, established in 1895. Today the company operates one of the
leading theme parks in Norway, Kongeparken, and Lunds Tivoli and is taking over Skånes Djurpark, Sweden in 2015. In addition
the company runs and owns some of the largest fairs and music festivals in Norway and rents out attractions and experinces all
over the world including to Winter Wonderland in London, UK. Håkon Lund is the fourth generation Lund. He was growing up
among popcorn and candyfloss. He graduated as a lawyer with MBA. He was nominated for EY Entrepreneur of the year for
2013. Håkon Lund has developed Kongeparken to be one of the leading theme parks for the age group 0-14 year. Among other
attractions it has the Children’s Fire Station, which won the THEA Award 2011 for the best new attractions in the world.
Martha Lytton Cobbold
Martha is the Managing Director of Knebworth Estates and Lytton Enterprises Ltd. She is responsible for the management of
Knebworth House, Gardens, Park and Estates, a complex combination of a busy leisure management business, a private
charitable trust, a franchised conference and banqueting centre, a family estate with forestry work, two tenanted farms and a
small clutch of residential and commercial rental properties. Martha has worked directly with all licensed events including the
Oasis concert (1996), Ministry of Sound (2001), Robbie Williams (2003), RedBull Soapbox Derby (2004), Hedgestock (2006),
The Renaissance Wild in the Country Festival(2006-2008), Sonisphere Festival (2009, 2010, 2011, 2014), Red Hot Chili Peppers
(2012).
Steve Mills
Steve is a Director of BDRC Continental, the largest service-sector based research consultancy in the UK. Steve’s career in leisure
and tourism research spans 15 years, the last 10 of which have been as a BDRC Director. Visitor research and development on
behalf of attractions is a particular specialism of his, along with visitor and market segmentations, membership studies and
fundraising research. BDRC has an impressive range of tourism and attractions clients including Visit England, ALVA and many
individual attractions. Steve is a member of both the Tourism Society and the Market Research Society.
Lesley Morisetti
Lesley is Director of Morisetti Associates. Lesley started her career in the entertainments industry 29 years ago, working for the
Tussauds Group (now part of Merlin). She gained invaluable experience there in operations, marketing and revenue
management and new attraction development roles. In 2002 she moved into consultancy and became a Director of Economics
Research. In 2010 Lesley set up Morisetti Associates, to focus on advising clients on attraction and entertainment operating
performance and the development of new attractions. Client work includes projects for major operators such as Merlin
Entertainments and Universal Studios, the National Trust, Natural History Museums of London and Copenhagen and brand
developments such as Silverstone Race Circuits.
Sharon Orrell
Sharon is Head of Research and Insight at VisitEngland. A market researcher with 20 years experience gained across a wide
range of sectors and countries, she has worked in the UK and Germany, agency and client-side. Sharon joined VisitEngland in
June 2008 where she has responsibility for delivering of a range of quantitative and qualitative surveys, providing intelligence to
the tourism industry about the volume and value of the sector, as well as many other areas including business performance,
consumer trends and visitor satisfaction. She has also played a leading role in ETRIP (English Tourism Research & Intelligence
Partnership) initiatives to improve the quality, scope and communication of tourism statistics. Sharon also manages ad hoc
market research on topics such as the impact of the recession, quality assurance, and holiday decision making and information
needs – to help VisitEngland and its stakeholders better understand the behaviour and attitudes of our visitors in the present
challenging economic climate.
Alison Rice
Alison is a journalist and broadcaster who regularly comments on tourism issues on national TV and radio. She is chair of the
Family Holiday Association charity and new board member of the Tourism Society. She is a long-standing judge for the national
Visit England Awards for Excellence and former editor of VisitBritain’s daily Britain Calling features. She also worked with
VisitBritain’s corporate communications team during the 2012 London Olympic Games. Alison’s career includes producing and
presenting travel programmes for both BBC TV and ITV, Director of Programmes for the Travel Channel, Editor of BBC Holidays
magazine and award-winning series for the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, Guardian and Observer. She is the former Associate
Lecturer in tourism and the media at the University of the Arts, London and is now also in demand for workshops on how
today’s media work and how to communicate more effectively.
The event for – museums and galleries; theme and leisure parks; piers; zoos, aquariums and animal attraction
heritage centres and sites; historic transport; landmark attractions; parks and gardens; farm attractions; scienc

7. Helen Scott-Lawler
Helen joined Burges Salmon in 1993 and is now Head of the firm's 40-strong Commercial team, having spent the previous four
years on the firm’s strategic board. Helen has a very broad range of experience in commercial contracts, with a particular
specialism in Intellectual Property and Brands and has worked with a number of operators in the leisure sector over two
decades. Her clients include The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Royal Armouries; At-Bristol; Andrew Brownsword Hotels; Bristol
2015 European Green Capital and The Racecourse Association.
Chris Seaton
Chris joined Burges Salmon after a career as an officer in the Royal Navy. He led the firm’s 25 strong employment team for 15
years and is now on the firm’s strategic board with responsibility for the firm’s international strategy, regularly lecturing in the
UK and abroad on employment issues. Chris acts for a wide range of businesses from FTSE 100 companies to charitable
organisations and public sector organisations. He has advised a wide range of businesses in the leisure and activity sector
including the National Trust, Event Network, the Royal Armouries, The Queen’s Club (Tennis), The Royal Horticultural Society,
Great Eastern Hotel, Force India and the FIA.
Melanie Sensicle
Melanie worked in theatre, publishing and higher education before joining Visit Brighton as Head of Marketing. In 2003 she
assumed responsibility for the city’s convention bureau and became Assistant Head of Tourism. In 2006, she moved to Durham
to set up Visit County Durham, the county’s first destination management agency. Visit County Durham has the full remit of
destination management and marketing as well as playing a significant role in developing large scale festivals and events and
leading for the county on place marketing. She represents the county on Visit England’s Destinations Forum and regularly
speaks and writes on the subjects of destinations and the visitor economy. She is a Common Purpose Graduate, a board
member of Durham’s Business Improvement District Company as well as the county’s cultural and economic partnerships, a
member of Durham’s World Heritage Site Management Committee and a founding member of the Northern Tourism Alliance.
Lyndsey Swift
Lyndsey leads on the Strategic Partnership Engagement agenda for VisitEngland to achieve the objectives and targets of both
VisitEngland and the Strategic Framework for Tourism 2010 to 2020 – England’s tourism strategy. Lyndsey works in partnership
with a number of national organisations and trade bodies to drive forward actions in the Framework. She is responsible for
VisitEngland’s key industry engagement structures – the Visitor Economy Forum and Strategic Industry Advisory Group.
Matthew Tanner MBE
Matthew has worked in the heritage sectors for some 20 years. Formerly he worked for the Scottish Fisheries Museum, and
National Museums Liverpool. He was appointed as Director & Chief Executive of the SS Great Britain Trust in 2000. The
project, completed in 2005, was awarded the Gulbenkian UK Museum of the Year Prize 2006, the England Large Visitor
Attraction of the Year 2007, and the European Museum of the Year’s Micheletti Award for Best Industrial/ Technology
Museum. In 2010, Matthew led the project to create the new Brunel Institute learning and archive centre in Bristol,
incorporating the National Brunel Archive. He is Chairman of the Association of Independent Museums, a Trustee of the Black
Country Living Museum Ltd., and has advised on many other museum projects. He is a Non-Executive Director of Destination
Bristol Ltd.
Nick Way
Nick has been the Director General of the Historic Houses Association since 2005, during which the HHA’s membership has
grown to 1,570 historic houses, castles and gardens and the number of Friends of the HHA has risen from 26,000 to 38,000.
Nick is also a Board Member of the Heritage Alliance, the umbrella body for 90 heritage organisations for England, and the
Secretary of the Heritage Conservation Trust, a charity that has helped restore works of art in over 40 historic houses open to
the public and supported educational initiatives in historic houses. He is also a Council Member of the Attingham Trust, which
supports the academic study of the fine arts in and the architecture of country houses. Before joining the HHA, Nick was
Director of Policy at the Country Land and Business Association and a member of the Prince of Wales’ Affordable Rural
Housing Initiative and of the Advisory Council to the School of Rural Economy and Land Management at the Royal Agricultural
College in Cirencester. His early career was in EU and international policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, having graduated in
Economics from Cambridge University.
John Whittingdale
John has represented Maldon in Parliament since 1992. If you are a constituent and would like to get in touch, John would be
very happy to hear from you. If you are an organiser of a local group, a teacher at a local school, or involved in a local business
which you feel would benefit from a visit or a meeting, do let John know. The majority of the former Maldon and East
Chelmsford constituency forms the basis of the new Maldon seat. Additionally, the areas around South Woodham Ferrers come
in from the former Rayleigh constituency and Stock and Margaretting are added from the former West Chelmsford
constituency. Other wards from the previous Maldon and East Chelmsford form parts of the new Witham and Chelmsford
constituencies which are represented by John's colleagues Priti Patel and Simon Burns.
WWW.VAC2014.CO.UK
ns; churches, cathedrals and places of worship; historic houses;
ce centres; heritage railways and workplace attractions.

8. Sponsor and Exhibitor Profiles
ACOUSTIGUIDE – SPONSOR STAND 5
2-3 North Mews,
London WC1N 2JP
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7269 5150
Email: info@acoustiguide.co.uk
Website: www.acoustiguide.com
Like us on Facebook
A global developer and manufacturer of hand-held
interpretive systems for multilingual audio and
multimedia content for over 50 years, Acoustiguide is at
the forefront of interpretation in the museums and
heritage sector; providing equipment, content and now
apps to hundreds of prestigious sites around the world.
The UK client base comprises of many of the best known museums and heritage sites
including Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Science Museum, The Roman Baths
and Cardiff Castle.
BDRC CONTINENTAL LTD. – SPONSOR STAND 10
Kingsbourne House,
229-231 High Holborn,
London WC1V 7DA
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7400 0381
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7405 4778
Email: steve.mills@bdrc-continental.com
Website: www.bdrc-continental.com
Your issues: understanding the visitor experience, visitor
engagement and interpretation, visitor/market segmentation,
marketing and communications, membership issues,
benchmarking, brand positioning, economic impact, new product
development, special events.
Our insight: BDRC Continental informs your decision making through insights derived
from innovative quantitative and qualitative research among your visitors and your
markets. To meet us at VAC today, contact Steve Mills on 07980 712 563 or Max
Clapham on 07989 165 635.
BDRC Continental: Providing Intelligence.
BURGES SALMON – SPONSOR
Burges Salmon is a leading UK law firm. With 79
partners and more than 650 people, with offices
in London and Bristol, we act for national and
international clients on all aspects of UK law. We
have a leading hotels, leisure and tourism practice
and act for a wide variety of clients in the sector.
Excellent client service underpins all that we do. Our unique working culture – how we
work – is open, collegiate, collaborative and strongly client-focused. To find out more,
see www.burges-salmon.com or follow us on Twitter @BurgesSalmon.
One Glass Wharf,
Bristol BS2 0ZX
Tel: +44 (0) 117 939 2000
Fax: +44 (0) 117 902 4400
Email: info@burges-salmon.com
Website: www.burges-salmon.com
CHOC AFFAIR LTD. STAND 7
Choc Affair is a well-established, independent UK confectionery
manufacturer, producing an exciting and innovative range of
chocolate products, with a proven appeal to the visitor attraction
audience. We offer a bespoke service of own label bars made in an
array of mouth-watering flavours to delight the most discerning of
clients, as well as a stunning range of lollies designed to appeal to
children of all ages! Please take a few minutes to visit us at the conference for a taste of
how we can enhance your valuable retail offering! We look forward to meeting you.
Unit 1 Yorvale Business Park,
Hazel Court, James Street,
York YO10 3DR
Tel: +44 (0) 190 454 1541
Fax: +44 (0) 843 658 1309
Email: eatme@choc-affair.com
Website: www.choc-affair.com
LEVY RESTAURANTS STAND 12
Parkview,
82 Oxford Road,
Uxbridge UB8 1UX
Tel: +44 (0) 1895 554 199
Email: marketing@levyrestaurants.co.uk
Website: www.levyrestaurants.co.uk
Levy Restaurants UK is the sports, leisure and
hospitality sector of Compass Group UK &
Ireland. We provide individual character to each
of our cafes, restaurants and events spaces for clients including, Tom’s Kitchen at
Somerset House, Salisbury Cathedral, as well as Liberty London and The
Glyndebourne Festival, designing bespoke catering and sales and marketing solutions.
Our work is recognized by major accolades, including UK Customer Experience Award
and Restaurant and Bar Design Award.
The event for – museums and galleries; theme and leisure parks; piers; zoos, aquariums and animal attraction
heritage centres and sites; historic transport; landmark attractions; parks and gardens; farm attractions; scienc

9. PEOPLE 1ST STAND 1
2nd Floor,
Armstrong House,
38 Market Square,
Uxbridge UB8 1LH
Tel: +44 (0) 1895 817 000
Email: info@people1st.co.uk
Website: www.people1st.co.uk
Train your staff to deliver a memorable customer
experience with WorldHost – the world-renowned
customer service programme that was
used to train over 100,000 support staff and
volunteers at the London 2012 Games – and gain
the much acclaimed WorldHost Recognised Business Badge for excellence service. We
can train your staff in-house using one of our accredited WorldHost trainers or we can
help you set up your own in-house training for maximum return!
PICTUREWORKS EUROPE STAND 2
RUSSELL PLAY STAND 4
Russell Play specialises in the design and build of bespoke
playscapes for the external environment. Our unique areas
are constructed using steel, rope and timber and we can
create stunning one-off designs for every site. We aim to
build exciting and child-focused play environments which are
fun for the whole family. We work with our clients to bring
their ideas to life, ensuring any facility will provide maximum impact
and enjoyment.
Brightwater House,
Market Place,
Ringwood,
Hampshire BH24 1AP
Tel: +44 (0) 1590 675652
Fax: +44 (0) 1590 670092
Email: info@russell-play.com
Website: www.russell-play.com
TOR SYSTEMS LTD. STAND 6
TOR Systems offer high performance ticketing and booking
solutions that can manage high volume admissions, timed
activities such as tours or educational programmes and bespoke
seated events. The solution not only assists attractions by
offering the highest levels of functionality in ticketing, but also
has features required for complex group and event bookings,
memberships, fundraising and customer relationship
management.
Behind our Ticketing and Booking system lies a UK based business with a wealth of
expertise, built up over 3 decades. The team at TOR have knowledge in designing and
developing products for attractions of all types, as well as experience in the
commercial and operational aspects of managing visitor attractions.
WWW.VAC2014.CO.UK
Bishops Hill House,
Gravel Hill,
Swanmore,
Southampton SO32 2PN
Tel: +44 (0) 1329 836 420
Fax: +44 (0) 1329 835 501
Email: sean.k@pictureworkseurope.com
Website: www.pictureworkseurope.com
Pictureworks Europe are specialists in bespoke
souvenir photographic solutions for visitor
attractions, the leisure industry and theme parks.
As the “Supplier of Souvenir Photographic Services to the London 2012 Olympic
Games” we have a proven record for delivering reliable, efficient and profitable
photography operations.
Pictureworks are innovators of imaging technology including photo tagging, green
screen, fixed ride and roaming photography solutions. Many world leading brands
continue to trust Pictureworks Europe as their souvenir photography partner.
58-60 Longton Road,
Trentham,
Stoke on Trent ST4 8YZ
Tel: +44 (0) 1782 644 755
Fax: +44 (0) 1782 644 346
Email: sales@torsystems.co.uk
Website: www.torsystems.co.uk
ns; churches, cathedrals and places of worship; historic houses;
ce centres; heritage railways and workplace attractions.

10. Sponsor and Exhibitor Profiles CONTINUED
UNIVERSALMAIL UNITED KINGDOM LTD. STAND 11
Universal Mail produce International Postcard Stamps promoting
tourist attractions and regions throughout the United Kingdom for
the tourism industry. Our stamps can be used to send postcards to
any destination worldwide. An access agreement with Royal Mail
enables any postcard bearing a UniversalMail postage stamp to be
mailed through their network.
Suite 410,
Southbank House,
Black Prince Road,
London SE1 7SJ
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3176 0541
Fax: +44 (0) 20 3176 0542
Email: info@universalmail.co.uk
Website: www.universalmail.co.uk
USBORNE PUBLISHING STAND 3
Usborne House,
83-85 Saffron Hill,
London EC1N 8RT
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7430 2800
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7430 1562
Email: uksales@usborne.co.uk
Website: www.usborne.com
Usborne is the largest and most successful
independent children’s book publisher in
the UK, and IPG Children’s Publisher of the
Year 2014. We create brilliant books for
children of all ages, from babies to young
adults, including fiction, non-fiction,
novelty and baby books. Usborne books
are already stocked in a wide range of
museums, galleries, visitor attractions and
heritage sites, and we actively publish
books which are aimed at this market. If
you haven’t stocked Usborne books before, our experienced
sales team can work with you to come up with a selection that
will suit you and your business.
VISITENGLAND STAND 8
VisitEngland, the national tourist board, works in partnership with
the industry to develop the visitor experience across England, plan
national tourism strategy, grow the value of tourism in England and
provide advocacy for the industry and our visitors. Our work is
underpinned by robust research and customer insights. You can
access the latest in-depth market intelligence and statistics on
www.visitengland.org/insight-statistics. VisitEngland activity is
organised through four key specialisms: Research and insights – providing data,
intelligence and analysis to the industry and to government, integrated marketing
campaigns developed by working with both commercial and public sectors, business
support – including development and implementation of national quality standards
and advocating for the visitor experience and partnerships – working with a range of
partners throughout the country to ensure successful delivery of the Strategic
Framework for Tourism in England and forging national commercial partnerships to
optimise routes to market.
Sanctuary Buildings
20 Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3BT
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7578 1451
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7578 1405
Email: attractions@visitengland.org
Website: www.visitengland.com
The event for – museums and galleries; theme and leisure parks; piers; zoos, aquariums and animal attraction
heritage centres and sites; historic transport; landmark attractions; parks and gardens; farm attractions; scienc

11. Exhibitor Listing and Floor Plan
PICKWICK SUITE
SUPPORTING SPONSORS/EXHIBITORS
Company Stand No.
Acoustiguide 5
BDRC Continental Ltd. 10
Choc Affair Ltd. 7
Levy Restaurants 12
People 1st 1
Pictureworks Europe 2
Russell Play 4
TOR Systems Ltd. 6
UniversalMail United Kingdom Ltd. 11
Usborne Publishing 3
VisitEngland 8
WWW.VAC2014.CO.UK
ns; churches, cathedrals and places of worship; historic houses;
ce centres; heritage railways and workplace attractions.

12. VAC 2014
Conference Organiser
Contendam Limited, 26-28 Hammersmith Grove, London W6 7HA, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8748 8868 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8237 4093
Email: info@vac2014.co.uk Website: www.vac2014.co.uk
Programme designed and produced by MWGC 01892 677702 www.webberdesign.co.uk
Front cover photo credits: Top Right: (pirate) VisitEngland/VisitKent, Boy by HMS Gannet. Middle left: VisitEngland/Diana Jarvis, Broadway Tower, Worcestershire
Middle Right: VisitEngland/Iain Lewis, Holkham Hall, Norfolk. Bottom left: VisitEngland/VisitBritain/Pawel Libera, Science Museum, London, England, UK.