A lot of experiences fall into two distinct traps. There’s the entertainment trap: creating an experience as a means for purely amusement or spectacle. Then there’s the classroom trap: treating an experience like a lesson or a step-by-step tutorial.
While both these traps tend to fall at opposite ends of the spectrum, they have one very important thing in common: the guest is largely a passive spectator or engaged in a way that limits their creativity, imagination, or sense of connection. They are expected to just sit & watch or follow instructions.
How do we protect ourselves from falling into either of these traps, engaging guests in more meaningfully active ways? The answer lies in play.
Play is the remedy to mundane experiences that lack impact, connection, or feel a bit too ‘been there, done that’. You have exploration and discovery, and then you have play. Play has qualities of exploration and discovery, but with a ‘what if’ element to it that incites wonder and magic. It’s not about taking things at face value, it’s more imaginative and open-minded.
The more we move away from work, seriousness, autopilot tasks, the more we enter into the realm of play, imagination, and creativity. To me, play is so much about channeling curiosity into the physical realm; not letting that curiosity reside quietly up in your head. Unfortunately, adults will rarely just fall into play mode on their own. You must invite that sort of behavior with the right environment and encouragement.
In a new report, Skift addressed how play powers today’s traveler journey. The report tends to focus on recreational activities, sporting events, theme parks, festivals, and arts & culture… which is of course an incredibly broad and diverse sector, none of which is immune to falling into either of the traps above.
But their findings are still promising: 86% of travelers agreed that participating in play activities is important to an overall sense of happiness and well-being, more than 70% of travelers said that play has become more central to their travel plans in the past five years, and 68% of travelers are willing to spend more on trips planned around play.
“Play is important in people’s lives, [but] people don’t make time for play because it sounds frivolous. And really the opposite of play is not work. It’s actually depression. Biophysically, we need that sense of play as a sense of renewal, just like we need a good night’s sleep. [And there’s a] direct line between this biophysical need to travel and play.” - Visit California CEO and President Caroline Beteta
So how do we define what a play experience looks like? Here are some of the essential aspects that move an experience or activity into the realm of play. This is what I call the ‘play triangle'.
Play in relation to self: Play creates opportunities for learning, experimentation, self-exploration, trying on new identities, creative communication & expression, problem solving, and more in a low-stakes environment. During play, people get to explore their own self-concept, try on new and different roles, and see what feels good to them. Even in completely empty room with no one around and no sensory input, we can still play within the confines of ourselves and our own mind.
Play in relation to others: Playing is often a social activity where you are exposed to a wider range of views and perspective as opposed to when you are on your own. Taking people out of their normal context and putting them in playful collaborative activities therefore changes traditional roles, encouraging people to think in different ways and adopt the perspective of others.
Play in relation to environment: when someone is invited to get curious and interact with their sensorial surroundings, play can be activated. Like when a child pretends a broom is a horse, or when someone draws shapes on a dusty car. Anything in one’s environment can become a call to play if the enticement is there.
These three elements of play work synergistically together. On occasion you may have just one, but more often there is a combination of the realms at play.
To expand on the deeper concept of play from a more scientific level, I’m going to share some insights from popular neuroscientist, Andrew Huberman and his podcast episode on play. “The playful mindset is not necessarily about smiling and jumping around or being silly. That’s not it at all… all these different dimensions of play are really about testing out how we feel comfortable or uncomfortable, how we react good or bad, how we react with stress or with glee when others behave in certain way… play is not just about having fun. Play is about testing, it’s about experimenting, and it’s about expanding your brain’s capacity.”
Huberman goes on to share that the high levels of adrenaline that are generated from stress actually shut down the circuits that allow a child or young adult to engage in play. This results in limited plasticity later on in life. By engaging in play as adults we can reactivate some of the circuits and reopen the plasticity. “It is through the process of play that we become who we are as adults, and it is through the process of play that we are able to ADJUST who we are as adults.”
Huberman says that “Even if we listen to new forms of music or we go see new art or new movies, those are new experiences, but that's not us making new predictions about what's going to happen next.” So, this is why I say that entertaining experiences can be a trap if you’re looking to deliver a high-value, impactful experience.
This is not a call to abandon entertaining or educational experiences, but a call to be more thoughtful in how these experiences engage guests. There are always a handful of tweaks that can be made to take an experience from 'fun yet passive' to 'fun, interactive, and transformative'.
In particular, this experimental quality of play that Huberman harps on has the ability to spark some exciting growth and wellbeing for guests. So next time you’re thinking of hosting an activity or workshop at your property, or when you’re evaluating the guest journey for your tourism attraction, ask yourself: where’s the invitation to real play?
Hopefully this new reframe around the true meaning of play will inspire some unique opportunities to interact with your guests in exciting ways!
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