Sabine Lehmann

As we head into peak season, the most valuable thing you can do is step back and watch the plans and processes you built this year play out under pressure. Never underestimate what you learn by observing your site on its busiest days. This is not the time for new projects or untested fixes. It is the time to observe, collect data and save the decisions for after the season, so you can test them over the next peak at Easter.

Know your capacity days

Most attractions can split their year into four kinds of day, and true peak days make up only 10 to 15% of the year.

Day type	What it looks like
Low	Exceptionally quiet
Medium	Normal operations
High	Busy, but manageable
Peak	Exceptional pressure on every part of the site

Even in peak season, not every day or every hour runs at full capacity. Watch how the weather shapes when visitors arrive and how they move through your site. Fixing peak pressure with capital investment is expensive, so spreading arrivals across the day or the year through pricing, specials and premium options is a more cost-effective option. Now is the time to observe and do on site research to you can plan for this next year.

What to watch

Walk your site on its busiest afternoon as if you were a first-time visitor. Where does the queue start to snake, and how long before patience runs out? Are the toilets coping, or quietly becoming the story people tell afterwards? Does the coffee kiosk sell out, or sit idle because nobody can reach it through the crowd? And look at your staff’s faces as well as the numbers, because peak tests people as much as it does your systems. Then hand out the clipboards: your supervisors see things you won’t. Debrief straight after the season, and put up a staff prize for the sharpest observation or the best fix.

Eight ways to make the most of peak

1. Treat peak as a live research lab. Collect visitor feedback, source markets, dwell times and spend data while volumes are high.
2. Run the small trials you have already planned. Use the crowds to test timed entry, pricing tiers or add-ons you prepared before the season, and see what sticks.
3. Read the queue. Map bottlenecks, crowding and visitor flow now, so layouts, staffing and booking systems can be adjusted before next season.
4. Spot your future stars. Peak brings temporary staff and pressure. Note who shines, build your 2027 team.
5. Build your content bank. Gather photos, video, reviews and testimonials now for next year’s marketing.
6. Stress-test your resilience. Measure water, energy, waste and backup systems under full load, and note where outages or restrictions would hurt most.
7. Listen for signals of change. Watch for new source markets, how visitors plan and book (including with AI tools), accessibility needs and shifting expectations. These are early clues to 2027 and beyond.
8. Hold the debrief before you forget. Schedule a post-peak review in January or February to turn lessons into a 2027 action plan.
   

What not to do

Peak season is about protecting your team’s energy, so some things can wait.

• Do hold short daily briefings for staff and managers.
• Don’t hold meetings that aren’t essential.
• Don’t start new projects.
• Don’t chase big new ideas. Note them down; your team will need rest before they can take them on.
  

From all of us at AAVEA: may your season be safe, the weather gods be on your side and your site be busy. This is a tough year for domestic and international tourism, with geopolitics and fuel costs likely to squeeze visitor spend, which makes the lessons of this peak all the more valuable. See you in 2027.