Finally back home. London is three hours away, one hour to Copenhagen by train followed by a two hours flight, but it is still almost a total of 10 hours journey from my house to London Olympia.
I guess, coming from Sweden, Im not really the typical person to be visit Who Do You Think You Are Live. I don't have any roots what so ever in the UK. Still, for me, I went there mainly for the presentations. To get motivation and inspiration. A genealogy boost. A family history 3 day bootcamp. There were plenty of presentations suitable for anyone with knowledge of the English language and an interest in family history and genealogy. DNA, Google, the KeyNote about social media and so on. They certainly filled my day and still I didn't have time to visit all that I wanted to. The software companies have users all over the world (me included) which was also neat. I would say WDYTYA Live is very international with a lot of local (national) content as well. Great event, I loved being there and I had a wonderful three days!
About ancestral tourism. (OK, I know it isn't really, but close..?)
How about when buying the tickets for WDYTYALive 2013:
- What about a checkbox: Do you want to stay at this hotel? It will cost you XX. A bus will pick you up every morning for you to be in the queue 1 hour before opening. In the evening the bus will leave 30 minutes after closing.
- What about a checkbox: Do you want to book the special Friday night WDYTYALive 2013 Dinner at this hotel? It will cost you XX and during the dinner which starts at XX, YY will be there and tell some exciting stories about.. the tube of London/Charles Dickens/Jack the Ripper/you get the idea.
- What about a checkbox: Do you want to go on the special Saturday WDYTYALive 2013 sightseeing bustour? It will cost you XX, you will be picked up outside Olympia London at 6pm, the tour will take 2 hours, and if you want to join the dinner afterwards at XX it will cost you an additional XX.
- What about a checkbox: Do you want to join the special WDYTYA 2013 London Walking tour? It will cost you XX and the starting point is London Olympia at XX pm.
Me, I would definitely checked those boxes. And I don't think it is just me.. or?
I like your ideas, I hope you've tweeted Nick Barratt @FamilyHistorySh!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it's not just you. The National Archives have said that their search rooms were busy on Thursday due to people making the most of their trip. In order to justify the time and expense of a trip to London, offering a package has got to be a good idea.
I live a tube ride away so doen't apply to me.