It has been a tumultuous decade for many operations falling under the banner of visitor attractions (hereafter referred to as VAs). From museums to theme parks, many felt the impact of the pandemic lockdowns very acutely; those were, quite literally, the ‘lost years’. Simultaneously, however, many organisations were encountering new – and significantly raised – expectations around technology, with VAs increasingly needing to offer AV experiences that couldn’t possibly be evoked in the home.
IMMERSIVE DEVELOPMENTS
If there is a thread that unites often disparate new technologies, then it’s undoubtedly the concept of ‘immersive’ – in other words, being able to envelope the visitor in audio and visuals more completely than ever before.
More than any previous generation of surround sound – and let’s not forget that it’s been a ‘thing’ for well over 50 years, since Pink Floyd staged the first quadraphonic sound concert in May 1967 – immersive audio systems are being incorporated into new projects from the earliest design stages.
Then there are many developments occurring on the visual side, from projection mapping and LED screens to dazzling implementations of virtual reality, augmented reality and other technologies bracketed as ‘mixed reality’ (MR). Ideas about how VAs should be controlled and managed – especially where the use of technology is especially elaborate – are also continuing to evolve, which means control platforms are as well.
Make no mistake, there are plenty of challenges for VAs at present, not least an ongoing cost of living crisis that means people are naturally inclined to spend less and stay at home more. But in pure technological terms, some astonishing work is taking place which will ensure that the VA market as a whole has the best possible chance of a bright future.
Joe Graziano, director of sales, themed entertainment, EMEA, Christie, says: “While I don’t think audiences left, per se, I do think guest expectations for attractions have increased. There’s a focus in the market to deliver exceptional experiences that merge storytelling and technology in new and novel ways.”
MARKET ANALYSIS
Invited to assess the extent to which the use of new video and immersive technologies is driving developments in the visitor attractions market, David Thompson – lead market analyst professional displays at Futuresource – responds: “Speaking with projection contacts, there’s definitely an expectation that as long as there is innovation both in hardware specs and content, the market for AV in visitor attractions will continue to be sizeable. In particular, projection mapping and increasingly large-format LED displays are at the forefront of this.”
But there are inherent challenges in this area of the market – not least the challenge of securing repeat visits. “An issue with this market is that generally visitors will visit an attraction once and probably won’t come back, so for things like immersive projection or permanent projection mapping displays, these only work in cities with very high tourism or places like theme parks with a continuous stream of new visitors,” notes Thompson.
Considering the current shape of the VA market, and the extent to which it has recovered and been changed by the pandemic period, AVIXA senior trade analyst Mike Sullivan-Trainor believes that the outlook for professional AV in visitor attractions in 2025 is one of cautious optimism, underpinned by a robust recovery in global tourism and a renewed appetite for memorable, technology-driven experiences. “After several challenging years, the market has not only rebounded from the pandemic but evolved in fundamental ways,” he says. “Over recent years, operators have reimagined what a ‘visit’ means, enhancing the guest experience by integrating digital engagement and immersive storytelling as core components rather than optional enhancements.”
Delving down into some of the specifics, Sullivan-Trainor says that VAs are now “prioritising experiences that feel both safe and spectacular.” Attendance has returned to or exceed pre-pandemic levels in many regions, driven by renewed public appetite for shared, sensory-rich experiences that can’t be replicated at home. “At the same time, attractions have become more data-driven, using analytics and integrated control platforms to personalise experiences and optimise operations,” he says. “For pro AV professionals, this means greater demand for collaboration between content creators, technologists and venue operators. The emphasis is on creating spaces that are immersive with interactivity and the ability to constantly evolve. This cements AV as a strategic enabler of long-term visitor engagement rather than a final layer of design.”
MULTI-SENSORY EXPERIENCES
There is general agreement that immersive technologies of various kinds have been pivotal to encouraging a reconnection between audiences and VAs. “Post-pandemic, guests are seeking experiences that are multisensory, emotionally resonant and, ultimately, worth leaving home for,” says Sullivan-Trainor. “Pro AV is at the heart of delivering that. Immersive projection environments, spatial and beamforming audio, LED-based storytelling spaces, and interactive installations powered by AI or motion tracking have transformed expectations across museums, theme parks, and heritage sites alike.”
He highlights art exhibitions as a particular focus of progress, with curators taking the opportunities afforded by new technology to (literally) bring new dimensions to spectacular – and headline-grabbing – retrospectives. “Digital art exhibitions have redefined what a gallery can be, using large-scale projection mapping and dynamic content to create living, responsive environments. Science centres and zoos are adopting mixed reality and AR overlays to enhance education and engagement, whilst historic sites are using immersive media to reconstruct stories and environments lost to time.”
Sullivan-Trainor also thinks that the newer technologies can help to extend the time that visitors spend at the attraction, and encourage return visits. “These technologies don’t just attract visitors; they also extend dwell time whilst deepening engagement and encouraging repeat visits. For the AV industry, this shift represents an ongoing opportunity to blend creative content with technical precision, enabling attractions to continuously refresh and reinvent their offerings in response to audience expectations.”
Focusing on specific technologies that are doing well in the VA market, David Thompson remarks: “High-brightness laser projection (particularly DLP and 4K laser projectors) perform very well in this market due to their ability to create visually spectacular projection mapping and immersive installations, with low maintenance, high brightness and colour stability – particularly on irregular surfaces such as buildings or even curved museum walls. Panasonic and Epson in particular cover this market very well, with laser projectors with edge-blending and geometric correction for complex displays. In a growing number of cases, though, direct-view LED is replacing projection. For example, on the sides of modern buildings, especially in China, LED is often being opted for over projection mapping.”
But while hardware and software will continue to advance in order to support evermore elaborate productions, it looks like content will be the next battleground. Looking ahead, says Thompson, “possibly even more so than hardware innovations, this market will be driven by content demands”. In terms of opportunities, he expects more entertainment-based simulations “such as kart-racing experiences”, as well as more interactive LED installations and possibly integration of displays with real-time and generative media for dynamic and reactive environments.
HIGH RESOLUTION
Providing a display technology vendor perspective, Barco segment manager, themed entertainment Koen Van Belle says: “If we look to the evolution of display solutions, we see a shift in projection technologies to higher resolutions, wider colour gamuts and brighter products for a certain size of projectors. Projectors are used in most cases for specific applications like projection mapping or immersed experiences. They need to be hidden from the audience to avoid any distraction from the story that is told, so the lens options became more important. Ultra short throw lenses in all shapes and forms are gaining popularity.”
Van Belle adds: “Another trend we see is that LED screens are becoming more affordable. They can be flat, curved in one direction or curved in two directions (dome shaped). The advantages are that they are very bright and colourful and can be used outdoors and compete against the sun in brightness. The disadvantages are that if this is added to a structure or building, this remains visible, even when not in use. When embedded in a building or structure, this is less visible when not in use, but reliability and lifetime become something to consider.”
The importance placed on the latest visual technologies for wayfinding, customer messaging and more has also increased – and the capacity for interactivity with visitors is often a key requirement. Pierre Gillet, VP of international sales at BrightSign, says: “Visitor attractions are increasingly investing in digital signage solutions to enhance customer experiences, drive engagement with consumers, and create memorable moments. Digital signage can play a crucial role in visitor flow, sharing important information and intelligent wayfinding.”
Gillet discusses a recent project involving BrightSign and Kumulus Agency surrounding a new exhibition at the Svalbard Museum, which is dedicated to preserving the cultural and natural history of the Arctic. To guide visitors through the Arctic’s past, present and future, the installation used Nexmosphere sensors and tactile elements that responded to guest interaction. Motion trigger zones and responsive touch-based engagement enabled visitors to initiate a variety of activities. These included animating Arctic wildlife, triggering ambient audio, exploring RFID storytelling with 3D-milled wooden relics, and a responsive LED sphere illustrating climate change. These were all powered by BrightSign’s HD5 digital signage player.
“The installation also featured a dual-projection Aurora Borealis 4K experience, powered by BrightSign’s XC2055 digital signage player,” he says. “With all content powered by brightAuthor connected, and using BrightSignOS, Kumulus could seamlessly orchestrate deployments across a secure network for continuous, reliable offline playback.”
SIGNAGE EXPECTATIONS
Invited to consider the ways in which expectations of digital signage software for VAs have changed in the last few years, Gillet highlights a flurry of developments, including AI on the edge. “Digital media players must be capable of performing AI-related tasks without experiencing playback or reliability challenges. This can be driven by neural processing units (NPUs), which standalone from the systems that control content playback, enabling AI applications without affecting playback quality. With AI at the edge, advanced systems can optimise content based on real-time information, such as time of day, location, engagement levels, foot traffic, and environmental conditions. AI-powered digital signage delivers advanced, real-time analytics.”
Gillet also points to greater expectations around the provision of real-time information and updates – for example, social media feeds and IoT sensor integration that require CMS platforms to manage specific formats and deliver content efficiently – and the scope of touchscreens and displays to support interactivity and a more personalised journey through the VA.
“Touchscreen interfaces and interactive maps are now expected features at visitor attractions, allowing audiences to explore content based on their interests,” he explains. “Digital signage keeps customers engaged during prolonged periods of dwell time, such as waiting in queue for rides at theme parks. Sensors can detect the distance or proximity of users from a display and adapt lighting conditions and colours when they approach.”
Consequently, there is an opportunity to bring a unique feel to each touchpoint throughout the attraction, while also giving visitors the chance to personalise their journey. Gillet: “For example, filling out a profile and tapping a QR code that allows for different content to show on a display based on the visitor’s preferences. Or for repeat guests, changing the types of content based on education or familiarity levels to bring added value to the content being shown.”
Not surprisingly given the rise in, and awareness of, the ever-growing number of cyber threats, “enhanced security” and reliability are also high on the priority list. “Digital signage users are focused on increasing reliability, security and performance,” says Gillet. “Digital signage players should be as secure and reliable as any other solution within the technology stack. This forces organisations to consider who manages specific assets.
“Users require secure digital signage solutions and remote management platforms to prevent unauthorised access and protect systems and content. To achieve this, they need purpose-built and secure operating systems that protect against viruses and minimise exposure to vulnerabilities. Digital signage operators need to know that their technology will simply work, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”
MIXED REALITY
Meanwhile, technology that supports immersive experiences is increasingly in demand. For example, trade show displays and event solutions specialist Event Display recently highlighted a trend towards pop-ups offering “multi-sensory adventures where art, history and culture come alive”. Indeed, the company notes that immersive exhibitions in 2024 saw a 35 percent increase in attendance year-on-year, before going on to list an impressive roll-call of AR and VR pop-ups taking place in the UK this autumn.
Underlying the extent to which these technologies are now being applied to a dazzling variety of historical and cultural moments and movements, the list runs the gamut from the Van Gogh Exhibit: The Immersive Experience and The Legend of the Titanic to a new VR iteration of Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds and a show entitled In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats that evokes the dawn of Coventry’s rave scene, featuring “VR recreations of illegal warehouse parties, pirate radio stations and club culture”.
Richard Perry, event display and trade show expert from Event Display, remarks: “AR and VR pop-ups are experiences that blur the line between art, history and technology. They give audiences a chance to step inside stories, interact with worlds, and connect with others in a way social media can’t replicate. From the grandeur of Van Gogh’s studio to the decks of the Titanic, visitors are not just watching, but they’re also living the moment. These experiences combine entertainment, education and community, which is why attendance and engagement keep growing.”
Van Belle makes an important point regarding the deployment of different MR technologies in the VA space. “If we make a distinction between VR, as being an experience for one person only, and AR, where there is (some sort of) interaction with other persons, then AR is preferred. People visiting attractions are most of the times not alone there. They are with friends or family and they want to experience things together. Therefore theme parks aiming at kids, for instance, make sure that also the parents and grandparents accompanying them are involved in what the kids do.”
He adds: The ‘holy grail’ for AR would be if multiple people can see holographic images, or virtual 3D objects without the need for wearing some sort of glasses. That would be a gamechanger in the VA space.”
Several key developments emerged from a question to all interviewees about the technology trends set to define the VA market over the next few years. It seems that 8K is not among them – “the workflows and infrastructure to handle 8K images is not there,” says Van Belle – but plenty more developments around extended and mixed reality technologies are envisaged.
Sullivan-Trainor says we will see the growth of extended reality (XR) environments, blending physical sets with AR and VR layers. “As XR hardware becomes lighter and more integrated, attractions will move from screen-based installations to fully blended environments where visitors interact directly with digital content through spatial computing.”
“Immersive experiences will become the de facto standard for most new VAs,” says Gillet. “Mixed reality (MR) will grow but remain niche to theme parks, museums, and other attraction-type environments in 2025. It is not just about touching or interacting with displays but bringing worlds together, blurring the lines between what is real and what is not.”
AI CONVERSATION
Many of AI’s expectations revolve around its scope for delivering more personalised experiences. Sullivan-Trainor anticipates “the rise of AI-driven personalisation with attractions increasingly using AI to adapt media, lighting and audio in real-time to suit audience demographics, preferences or even emotions, creating bespoke experiences at scale”.
As well as “hyper-personalised, AI-enhanced experiences”, Gillet also pinpoints the potential of what he terms ‘conversational AI’: “It has the potential to change the game for VAs. Visitors will soon be able to ask questions such as ‘where is the nearest toilet?’ or ‘what is the wait time for the rollercoaster?’ and get an instant, accurate response.
“It could also allow them to enhance their understanding of specific exhibits and artefacts within museums. This application of AI is still early in its adoption. However, it is coming to the digital signage and experience industries with speed.”
“The focus has already begun to shift to more personalised guest experiences,” agrees Graziano. “The integration of AI has the power to personalise the guest experience in real-time. It will be increasingly important for projectors and direct-view LED to have high-performance processing capabilities for minimal to no latency.”
More generally, “the use of LED will continue to rise in VA,” he adds. “From image quality at even low brightness and extreme colour fidelity to convex and concave displays, and more, LED has a bright future”, while projection technology will remain at the heart of many attractions, with 3DLP high-brightness projection continuing as the gold standard for the most complex and ambitious projects.
Sullivan-Trainor highlights an increased focus on sustainability and suggests that partnership will become increasingly important to delivering the complex, tech-intensive VAs of the future.
“For pro AV stakeholders, opportunities lie in system integration, content management platforms, and cross-disciplinary partnerships with gaming, film, and experience design sectors,” he says. “The future of visitor attractions is not just about spectacle – it’s about creating meaningful, data-rich and sustainable experiences that evolve over time.”
