Reason to Stay

Lunch
Arrival and networking.

Sandwich from M/S Café:
Chicken thigh with pickled onions, pointed cabbage, and tarragon

Beets with harissa, fennel, and pea sprouts

Reason to go
Today’s moderators will welcome everyone and set the stage for the presentations and discussions.

Host: Aslak Gottlieb, Chair of Elsinore 2032
Moderator: Louise Örnfelt

Keynote address by John Hird, tourism and experience expert at Hird&Ko, author, and adjunct lecturer at Aalborg University

A current research project is mapping the visitor journey at 111 Danish museums. The project identifies challenges and opportunities in organizing visitors’ museum experiences before, during, and after their visits. As the research director, John Hird provides us with insights into the findings while we await their publication in book form.

There is a strong focus on museums in terms of reforms, audience development, organization, funding, sustainability, research, and outreach. However, there is one aspect that remains somewhat overlooked: experience design and the untapped potential for elevating this field to a strategic level. This untapped potential is the focal point of the project “111 Danish Museums and Experience Design.”

Among other things, the project identifies challenges and opportunities in organizing visitors’ museum experiences before, during, and after their visits. The cornerstone of the project is 111 visits to Danish museums conducted in 2022, as well as interviews with 370 museum visitors.

The goal of the project is to gather insights into how museums approach experience design. For example, how do they welcome visitors? How do they say goodbye? And do museums have what is known as a “signature experience”? Last but not least, the project looks ahead to explore what museums can do to enhance the visitor experience. Where does the potential lie? And where does it not?

The project stems from a healthy dose of curiosity about museums, Danish tourism, and experience design in general. Museums, like no other institutions, can inspire and tell amazing stories about Denmark, the Danish people, and Danish culture—locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Panel: How do you create a contemporary physical landmark for a city approaching its 600th anniversary as a market town?

Mette Bentzen, Egeværk
Line Bruun Staldknecht, Helsingør Museums
Mette Brask, M/S
Marie Munk, Wonderful Copenhagen

Innovation, storytelling, and community engagement go hand in hand astheMaritimeMuseumand the Helsingør Museums, in collaboration with the world-renowned design duo from Egeværk, have initiated the creation of a new sculpture for Kulturhavnen in Helsingør through community engagement and cultural interdisciplinarity. 

With support from the Danish Business Promotion Board, Wonderful Copenhagen is behind Cities for Culture, an initiative aimed at attracting more international visitors, increasing visitor satisfaction, boosting cultural participation, growing public support, and creating green travel destinations.

The project has focused on developing a proposed solution for a physical exhibition format at the cultural harbor in Helsingør. The solution is intended to create visibility in the urban space and thereby spark curiosity among visitors to the city about its history. It is hoped that the installation will become a signature feature of historic Helsingør.

Furthermore, local residents should feel a sense of ownership and pride in the proposed solution by being made co-creators of the experience. That is why local residents have been invited to participate in the development process. World-renowned designers from Helsingør Egeværk were selected to design the artwork, which was unveiled on August 9 and will be tested in the weeks leading up to the conference through observation and interviews with the public.

Pause

Coffee/tea, fruit, and cake

Keynote byJohan Friis Bergholt, Marketing Director, VisitAarhus

Culture is a resource that isn’t dependent on the season. There is strong evidence that cultural tourism has the potential to attract visitors year-round. In other words, we’re talking about a product category that isn’t particularly dependent on the season or the weather. VisitAarhus has had positive experiences with year-round operations, which they have agreed to share with us at the conference.

As marketing director, Johan Friis Bergholt is spearheading a marketing strategy primarily aimed at international segments of cultural tourists. He takes us behind the scenes and uses specific case studies to show us how they’re succeeding in this endeavor.

Panel: Who should make the investments, and how do we divide the returns among the stakeholders?

Anni Mogensen, Director of the M/S Maritime Museum
Esben Danielsen, Director of the Cultural Analysis Institute
Michael Folmer Wessman, Senior Consultant at Dansk Erhverv
Pernille Kofod Lydolph, Director of Destination Bornholm

The government’s national strategy for sustainable growth stipulates that “the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Business and Industry shall establish an expert group to identify the challenges and opportunities facing cultural institutions in their efforts to attract more international cultural tourists and to make concrete recommendations for strengthening these efforts … The expert group will consist of members from the cultural sector, business organizations, tourism development agencies, municipalities, destination management organizations, the research community, as well as the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Business and Industry.”

After more than a year, it appears that the group has not yet been formed. Therefore, we have set up our own group to get a head start on this important work.

Led by Louise Örnfelt, the group discusses both the challenges and the potential of cultural tourism. Who should make the investments, and how do we divide the returns among the stakeholders?

Guided walking tour led by Christian Irgens Struckmann, director of Kronborg Castle

It’s time to network, but first, the castle manager at Kronborg will make sure we get our step counts up. Christian Irgens Struckmann will lead us back across the moat on a historical walk and share stories from behind the castle walls. The route ends below sea level at M/S Café, where the bubbly is flowing. Here, the deck is ours for informal conversation and socializing.

Happy Hour at M/S Café

The M/S Maritime Museum is hosting today’s final event, which the participants will shape themselves: networking and a warm-up for Culture Night in Helsingør.

Sparkling wine and snacks
Apple cider from Normandy
Crustades with salmon, kohlrabi, and dill
Crispy rice paper with oyster leaves and lemon
Seaweed chips with French chili

Culture Night in Helsingør

Reason to stay: At 5 p.m., the residents of Helsingør begin to pour out into the streets for Culture Night. The steering committee behind the event calls it “a diverse city festival.” With minimal municipal funding, local associations, merchants, and cultural institutions manage to weave a wonderful patchwork of events and evening activities. The program is updated regularly at www.kulturnathelsingør.dk

Accommodations
Conference guests can book rooms at a discount at Strandhotel Marienlyst as long as the hotel has availability. A link to the booking page will be sent upon purchase of a conference ticket.